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UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


SOCIALISM  IN  GERMAN 
AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


BY 


WILLIAM  EREDERIC  KAMMAN 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 

IN  PA  ITIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


AMERICANA  GERMANICA  PRESS 
PHILADELPHIA 

1917 


YC 


164 


9 


EXCHANGE 


AMERICANA  GERMANICA 

MONOGRAPHS  DEVOTED  TO  THE  COMPARATIVE 
STUDY  OF  THE 

Literary,  Linguistic  and  Other  Cultural  Relations 

OF 

Germany  and  America 

EDITOR 

MARION  DEXTER  LEARNED 

University  of  Pennsylvania 

XXIV.    Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

(See  List  at  the  End  of  the  Book} 


AMERICANA  GERMANICA  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA 

1917 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


SOCIALISM  IN  GERMAN 
AMERICAN  LITERATURE 


BY 
WILLIAM  FREDERIC  KAMMAN 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 

IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


AMERICANA  GKRMANICA  PRESS 
PHILADELPHIA 
1917 


COPYRIGHT  1917 
BY 

WIUJAM  FREDERIC  KAMMAN 


PREFACE. 

In  this  monograph  the  writer  has  endeavored  to  trace  in  out 
line  the  introduction,  dissemination,  and  development  of  German 
socialistic  ideas  in  the  United  States  from  about  1835,  to  recent 
years,  and  to  show  their  influence  on  German  American  literature. 
It  begins  by  showing  their  influence  on  certain  communistic  experi 
ments,  labor  organizations,  and  socialist  political  parties.  Until 
about  1890  German  immigrants  were  the  chief  heralds  and  dissemi 
nators  of  modern  socialistic  ideas  in  the  United  States.  Since  that 
time  the  movement  has  become  more  and  more  Americanized.  The 
socialist  German  American  press,  largely  under  the  guidance  of 
educated  liberals,  served  as  a  convenient  medium  for  spreading 
these  ideas.  Likewise,  the  Turner' societies  and  Independent  Con 
gregations  served  similar  ends.  All  these  agencies  had  an  important 
bearing  on  the  development  of  German  American  literature.  The 
final  chapter,  which  is  limited  chiefly  to  the  consideration  of  poetical 
productions  and  also  contains  essential  biographical  details,  seeks 
to  show  this  influence  on  the  content  of  German  American  litera 
ture.  Among  the  authors  that  tend  to  reflect  the  social,  political, 
and  economic  questions  of  the  times  are  Weitling,  Erbschloe,  Koch, 
Rothacker,  Straubenmuller,  Schnauffer,  Ziindt,  Castelhun,  Hempel, 
Kniep,  Dorsch,  Binder,  Bretthauer,  Nies,  Fritzsche,  Lange,  Glauch, 
Beidenkapp,  Rosenberg,  Reitzel,  Drescher,  and  Sattler. 

The  writer's  sources  are  indicated  in  the  bibliography  and  foot 
notes.  His  purpose  was  to  give  an  objective  account  based  on  these 
sources.  No  doubt  other  valuable  source  material  such  as  rare  files 
of  newspapers,  books,  and  pamphlets  of  limited  distribution,  have 
escaped  his  notice.  Some  were  inaccessible  to  him.  The  usual  diffi 
culty  of  clothing  an  accurate  statement  of  fact  in  a  readable  garb 
presented  itself  constantly. 

The  writer  feels  deeply  indebted  to  Professor  M.  D.  Learned, 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  for  inspiration,  encouragement, 
and  most  valuable  assistance  rendered  him  in  this  work.  He  is  in 
debted  also  for  courtesies  extended  by  the  authorities  of  the  city 
libraries  of  St.  Louis,  Belleville  (111.),  Milwaukee,  and  New  York, 

[51 


36 1860 


6  Preface 

and  of  the  libraries  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  the  Philadelphia 
Turngemeinde,  the  Philadelphia  Independent  Congregation,  and  the 
Philadelphia  German  Society.  Further,  he  feels  under  obligation  to 
Mr.  G.  A.  Hoehn,  of  St.  Louis ;  Hon.  V.  L.  Berger,  of  Milwaukee ; 
Dr.  W.  L.  Rosenberg,  of  Cleveland;  Mr.  Louis  Werner,  of  Phila 
delphia,  and  Mr.  Herman  Schlueter,  of  New  York,  for  kind  assist 
ance  rendered. 

WILLIAM  FREDERIC  KAMMAN. 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  January,  1917. 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

CHAPTER  I.  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  Early  Commu 
nism.  The  Transition  to  Modern  Socialism. 
Modern  German  Socialism  in  America  ....  9 

CHAPTER   II.  SOCIALISM    AND    THE    GERMAN    AMERICAN 

PRESS 34 

CHAPTER  III.  THE  INDEPENDENT  CONGREGATIONS  AND  SO 
CIALISM 51 

CHAPTER  IV.  THE  TURNERS  AND  SOCIALISM 58 

CHAPTER    V.  SOCIALISM  REFLECTED  IN  GERMAN  AMERICAN 

LITERATURE   64 

APPENDIX  119 

Bibliography  119 


[7] 


Ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky  and  of  the  earth; 
but  how  is  it  that  ye  do  not  discern  this  time? 

— Luke  12:  56. 

There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
Than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy. 

— Hamlet,  I,  5. 


Socialism  in  German  American  Literature. 

CHAPTER  I. 

V 

HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.1 

Wo  ich  niitze,  ist  mein  Vaterland. 

The  beginnings  of  modern  Socialism  as  a  fairly  well  defined 
movement  may  be  considered  as  dating  from  the  publication  of  the 
Communist  Manifesto  of  Marx  and  Engels  in  1848.  However,  the 
principles  of  Socialism  are  evident  in  the  writings  of  Proudhon, 
Rodbertus,  and  others  before  this  time.  This  movement  like  others 
similar  to  it  was  destined  to  spread  to  America,  the  land  which  fur-^ 
nished  a  fertile  soil  for  many  social  experiments.  The  virgin  soil 
of  the  New  World  appeared  to  the  visionaries  and  discontented,  as 
well  as  to  the  enterprising  and  oppressed  to  be  that  far-off  Utopia 
where  the  individual  might  shake  off  the  shackles  of  gray  tradition, 
and  create  a  social  system  which  would  not  repress,  but  further  his 
most  cherished  ideals. 

Germany,  the  home  of  a  class  of  individualists,  who  chafed 
under  the  political  and  economic  revolutions  of  the  third  and  fourth 
decades  of  the  nineteenth  century  furnished  many  immigrants,* who 
sowed  the  seeds  of  the  new  movement  in  America. 

Before  this  time,  however,  Germans  had  been  coming  inde 
pendently  and  in  groups.     The  thirteen  colonies  and  among  them  > 
especially  Pennsylvania  had  become  .the  refuge*  of  numerous  reli 
gious  sects  who  had   found  life  uncongenial  in   the  ^)ld  World*** 
Wars,   religious   persecutions,   tyrannical   governments,    failure    of 
crops,  famines,  and  poverty  drove  the  great  mass  of  enterprising 


1  For  the  history  of  Socialism  in  America  see :  A.  Sartorius  von  Walters- 
hausen,  Der  Moderne  Sozialismus  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  von  Amerika, 
Berlin,  1890;  Hermann  Schlueter,  Die  Anfdnge  der  deutschen  Arbeiterbezve- 
gung  in  Amerika,  Stuttgart,  1907;  H.  Semler,  Geschichte  des  Sozialismus  und 
Kommunismus  in  Nordamerika,  Leipzig,  1880;  Morris  Hillquit,  History  of 
Socialism  in  the  United  States,  New  York,  1903;  F.  A.  Sorge  in  Neue  Zeit 
(Stuttgart)  1890-1892. 

[9] 


io  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Germans  from  their  native  land.2  The  greatest  influx  began  in  the 
decade  1830-1840,  when  over  152,000  arrived.  With  the  Revolution 
of  1848  increasing  numbers  came  to  our  shores;  the  number  had 
risen  to  215,009  in  1854.  The  greatest  number,  250,630,  for  a  sin 
gle  year  came  in  1882.  More  Germans  than  any  other  single  race 
crossed  over  to  our  shores  in  the  last  three  centuries,  and  by  far  the 
greater  majority  came  for  political  and  economic  reasons.  To  be 
sure  the  greater  number  came  from  the  rank  and  file  of  the  people, 
but  among  them  was  a  generous  sprinkling  of  educated  liberals 
whose  influence  went  far  beyond  their  numbers. 

EARLY  COMMUNISM. 

Before  modern  scientific  Socialism  developed  there  was  a  period 
when  Communism  was  supposed  by  its  advocates  to  cure  all  the  pre 
vailing  ills  of  society.  During  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury  many  new  social  schemes  were  hatched  out  in  Europe  and  put 
on  trial  in  America.  Just  as  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen 
turies  America  had  become  a  refuge  for  numerous  religious  sects, 
so  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  it  became  the  soil  on  which 
these  new  theories  of  society  were  exploited.  America  was  untram 
melled  by  the  restraining  traditions  of  Europe,  and  it  possessed 
practically  unlimited  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  conditions 
which  are  always  favorable  to  any  kind  of  propaganda.  Fourier's 
and  Owen's  systems  were  among  the  most  wide-spread ;  the  former 
chiefly  among  the  better  educated  and  the  latter  among  the  laboring 
classes. 

Nordhoff  in  his  excellent  book,3  The  Communist  Societies  of 
the  United  States,  discusses  eight  societies  as  illustrations  of  suc 
cessful  Communism  in  this  country.  They  are  the  Shakers  (estab 
lished  in  1794  in  the  East,  ca.  1808  in  the  West),  the  Rappists  (es 
tablished  1805),  the  Baeumelers  or  Zoarites  (1817),  the  Eben-Ezers 
or  Amana  Communists  (1844),  the  Bethel  Commune  (1844),  the 
Oneida  Perfectionists  (1848),  the  Icarians  (1849),  and  the  Aurora 
Commune  (1852).  Of  their  origin  he  says  (page  387)  :  "the 


*Der  Deutsche  Pionier  XII,  148  (Rattermann)  ;  A.  B.  Faust,  The  Ger 
man  Element,  Boston,  1909  (2  vols.)  I,  582  ff.;  Fritz  Joseephy,  Die  deutsche 
iiberseeische  Auswanderung  seit  1871,  Berlin,  1912. 

*  Cf .  Bibliography  for  complete  title. 


Historical  Introduction  n 

Icarians  are  French;  the  Shakers  and  Perfectionists  Americans; 
the  others  are  Germans;  and  these  outnumber  all  the  American 
communists.  In  fact,  the  Germans  make  better  communists  than  any 
other  people — unless  the  Chinese  should  some  day  turn  their  atten 
tion  to  communistic  attempts." 

The  Shakers,  the  Rappists,  the  Zoarites,  and  the  Eben-Ezers 
consider  this  life  mainly  as  a  preparation  for  the  life  to  come.  They 
attempt  not  primarily  to  beautify  the  worldly  life  and  to  enjoy  it, 
but  they  renounce  worldly  pleasures  and  live  in  solemn  anticipation 
of  the  life  to  come.  The  idea  of  the  Socialists  or  other  type  of 
Communists  of  the  thirties  and  forties  was  not  to  flee  from  the 
world  but  to  reform  it ;  not  to  repress  natural  instincts  but  to  make 
them  count;  not  to  throw  aside  the  arts  and  sciences  but  to  culti 
vate  them.4  Their  idea  was  to  arrange  the  world  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  might  enjoy  it;  they  wanted  to  draw  heaven  to  earth. 
They  intended  to  educate  everybody  and  thus  give  each  individual 
an  opportunity  to  develop  for  the  good  of  all. 

The  attempt  of  the  talented  Norwegian  violinist,  Ole  Bull 
(1810-1889),  to  establish  a  colony  in  the  rugged  wilds  of  Potter 
County,  Pennsylvania,  about  1850,  is  an  interesting  chapter  in  the 
history  of  Utopian  social  experiments  in  America.  The  colony 
called  Oleona  after  its  founder  was  at  first  open  only  to  Norwegians. 
Later,  it  seems,  others  were  admitted,  but  as  early  as  the  fall  of 
1853  the  colony  was  already  breaking  up.  Ole  Bull,  who  had  sunk 
practically  all  his  property,  had  to  return  to  the  larger  cities  and 
give  concerts  to  gain  a  livelihood.  The  members  were  obliged  to 
sell  their  property  to  get  food.  Even  the  thoroughbred  stock  do 
nated  by  Cassius  M.  Clay  had  to  be  sold  at  a  great  sacrifice.5 

Attempts  at  Communism  of  the  worldly  type  were  made  at 
Teutonia,  McKean  County,  Pennsylvania,  New  Helvetia,  Missouri, 
Germania,  Wisconsin,  and  other  places  in  Pennsylvania  and  neigh 
boring  states ;  the  history  of  these  latter  attempts  is  rather  obscure.6 


*Cf.  Der  Volks-Tr&un  (New  York),  Sept.  26,  1846. 

5Cf.  Republik  der  Arbeiter  (New  York),  November  26,  1853;  and  the 
New  York  Tribune,  May,  1853. 

"Gustav  Korner,  Das  deutsche  Element  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  von 
Nordamerika,  1818-1848.  Cincinnati,  1880,  p.  71  ff.  See  also  Mitteilungen 
des  Deutschen  Pionier-Vereins  von  Philadelphia,  1907,  VI,  7-12  (C.  F.  Huch). 


12  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Teutonia  was  the  product  of  the  mind  of  Henry  Ginal  (born  in 
1802),  a  gifted,  free-thinking  clergyman.  In  1841  he  founded  in 
Philadelphia  a  socalled  "Begliickungsverein"  out  of  which  grew  the 
"Gewerbeverein,"  a  mildly  communistic  association  whose  member 
ship  soon  numbered  300.  Their  capital  stock  in  1842  was  $20,000, 
and  part  of  this  was  spent  to  buy  30,000  acres  of  uncultivated  land 
in  McKean  County,  Pennsylvania,  to  found  Teutonia.  Heinrich 
Schweizer  was  president  of  the  company,  Joseph  Ram  secretary,  and 
Johann  Lago  treasurer.  Rapp's  colony  was  largely  followed  as  a 
model.  In  1843  the  membership  of  the  society  had  risen  to  400,  but 
soon  thereafter  the  colony  failed,  since  there  was  no  strong  leader 
or  abiding  faith  to  hold  them  together. 

New  Helvetia  was  the  result  of  the  dreams  of  Andreas  Dietsch, 
a  brush  maker  from  Aarau,  Switzerland.  He  planned  a  colony  in 
America  where  he  could  carry  out  his  scheme  as  portrayed  in  his 
book,  D as  tausendjarige  Reich.  June  2,  1844,  a  group  under  the 
leadership  of  Dietsch  left  Switzerland  because  it  was  difficult  to  gain 
a  livelihood  there,  and  went  to  Missouri.  However,  the  location 
chosen  for  the  new  colony  was  very  unfavorable,  and  in  a  short 
time  nearly  all  the  members  that  did  not  leave  died  of  fever.  Dietsch 
refused  to  leave  the  place  to  the  last.7 

The  other  colony,  Germania,  about  which  much  was  written  in 
the  German  American  newspapers  of  the  time,  seems  never  to  have 
materialized.  The  Volks-Tribun  of  October  10,  1846,  reports  that 
only  eight  persons  were  in  the  colony,  and  these  were  supported  by 
their  fellow-members  in  New  York. 

These  non-religious  communist  settlements  schemes  failed  as 
did  others.  Their  leaders  were  of  an  impractical  turn  of  mind  who 
did  not  consider  the  entirely  new  conditions  of  pioneer  life,  and 
then  dissension  arose  invariably  among  the  members.  Moreover, 
as  Loher  remarks,8  there  seemed  to  be  something  in  the  American 
atmosphere  which  made  each  one  independent  and  selfish  imme 
diately. 


7  Volks-Tribun,  February  7  and  21,  1846. 

8  Franz   Loher,   Geschichte   und   Zustdnde   der  Deutschen  in   Amerika. 
Cincinnati,  1847,  p.  278. 


Historical  Introduction  13 

THE  TRANSITION  TO  MODERN  SOCIALISM. 

The  most  important  forerunner  of  modern  scientific  Socialism 
who  personally  extended  his  agitation  to  America  was  Wilhelm 
Weitling.9  He  represented  the  Communism  of  the  working-class 
which  was  since  then  renamed  Socialism.10  Weitling  developed  con 
siderable  ability  as  an  agitator  and  leader. 

He  was  born  at  Magdeburg  in  1808,  under  rather  adverse  cir 
cumstances  as  an  illegitimate  child  of  the  common  folk.  He  learned 
the  tailor's  trade  and  from  1828  to  1835  travelled  through  various 
parts  of  Germany.  In  1830  he  was  at  Leipzig,  to  which  city  he  had 
already  sent  some  articles  and  satirical  verse  to  be  published  in  the 
Tageblatt,  which,  however,  had  printed  but  few  of  his  contributions. 
Five  years  he  was  at  Vienna,  from  which  city  he  soon  thereafter 
travelled  to  Paris,  which  was  at  that  time  the  gathering  place  for 
German  refugees,  who  had  organized  the  Society  of  the  Just  (Bund 
der  Gerechten) .  Outside  of  a  short  visit  to  Germany  Weitling  spent 
the  years  1836-41  chiefly  in  Paris,  where  he  became  imbued  with  the 
teachings  of  Fourier  and  Baboeuf. 

Between  the  July  Revolution  of  1830  and  the  March  Revolu 
tion  of  1848  many  new  social  theories  were  propounded  in  France. 
Across  the  Rhine  "Young  Germany"  had  mustered  its  forces  in  the 
cause  of  political  emancipation.  The  July  Revolution  was  a  failure 
in  Germany,  especially  in  regard  to  the  freedom  of  the  press.  An 
exodus  of  educated  leaders  and  laborers  to  Paris  and  Switzerland 
followed.  In  Paris  the  "Bund  der  Geachteten"  was  organized;  in 
Switzerland,  "das  junge  Deutschland."  Cabet  inspired  with  Owen- 


9  Wilhelm  Weitling,  seine  Agitation  und  Lehre  im  geschichtlichen  Zusam- 
menhange^  dargestellt  von  Emil  Kaler,  Hottingen-Ziirich,  1887;   Norddeutsche 
Blatter,  Eine  Monatsschrift  fur  Kritik,  Literatur  und  Untcrhaltung.    I.  Band, 
Berlin,  1844 — for  a  biographical  sketch;    Wilhelm  Weitling  und  sein  System 
(by  N.  N.)  in  Die  Zukunjt,  socialistische  Revue,  I.  Jahrg.  1877-78,  Berlin,  pp. 
583-594,   606-615;     Republik    der  Arbeiter    (New    York),    1850-55,    especially 
July  19,  1851,  p.  108  ff.  for  an  autobiographical  sketch  of  Weitling;    A  neg 
lected  Socialist,  William  Weitling,  in  Annuls  of  the  American  Academy,  V. 
5,  pp.  718-739,  by  Fred  C.  Clark;    Herman  Schlueter,  Die  Anf'dnge  der  deut- 
schen    Arbeiterbewegung   in    Amerika,    Stuttgart,    1907,    pp.    49-128;     Eight 
Autograph  Letters  of  Weitling  in  the  library  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl 
vania. 

10  The  words  "socialism"  and  "socialist"  were  not  used  before  1833;    cf. 
International  Socialist  Review,  VI,  p.  45 ;  for  the  difference  between  "social 
ism"  and  "communism"  in  1847  see  Engel's  Preface  to  the  Communist  Mani 
festo,  dated  May  i,  1890. 


14  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

ism  had  returned  from,  his  exile  in  England  and  wrote  his  Voyage 
en  Icarie  (1840).  In  the  same  year  appeared  Proudhon's  Qu'est- 
ce  que  cest  que  la  propriete?  which  book  practically  converted  Marx. 
The  German  laborers  in  Paris  were  reached  by  Doctors  Ewerbeck, 
Schuster,  and  Maurer,  all  university-bred  men  and  well  acquainted 
with  the  philosophy  of  Kant,  Fichte,  and  Hegel. 

These  influences  were  brought  to  bear  on  Weitling  who  became 
the  chief  agitator  of  the  Society  of  the  Just.  In  this  capacity  he  pub 
lished  his  first  important  work,  Die  Menschheit,  iwe  sie  ist  und  wie 
sie  sein  sollte  (1838).  The  book  was  secretly  printed  and  dis 
tributed.  At  this  time  he  also  translated  Lamennais'  Le  livre  du 
pcuple  and  wrote  twelve  songs  for  the  people.  In  May,  1841,  he 
established  a  branch  of  the  Society  of  the  Just  at  Geneva,  where  ap 
peared  also  his  Hulferuf  der  deutschen  Jugend,  a  monthly,  which 
was  soon  forced  by  the  authorities  to  move  to  Berne,  and  then  to 
Vevey,  where  the  name  was  changed  to  Die  junge  Generation.  Of 
the  1,000  subscribers  of  this  paper  about  400  were  in  Paris  and  100 
in  London.  At  Vevey  in  1842  was  published  his  chief  work, 
Garantiefn  der  Harmonie  und  Freiheit,  which  states  his  principles  in 
a  clear  and  systematic  manner.  To  publish  it,  four  laborers  gave 
all  their  savings,  200  francs  each.  In  spite  of  the  strict  censorship 
this  book  passed  through  several  editions  in  Germany.  Das  Evan- 
gelium  der  armen  Sunder  appeared  in  1843  5  ^  endeavored  to  prove 
that  Communism  was  completely  in  harmony  with  the  Bible's  teach 
ings. 

While  in  Zurich  Weitling  met  two  kinds  of  Communists ;  among 
the  educated  were  Julius  Frobel  and  Moses  Hess;  among  the 
anarchistic  atheistic  class  were  Michel  Bakunin  and  Wilhelm  Marr, 
The  latter  popularized  Feuerbach's  philosophy  among  the  German 
laborers.  At  this  time  German  Communism  was  atheistic  while 
French  Utopian  Socialism  was  infused  with  the  religious  spirit  of 
Lamennais. 

The  Swiss  authorities  instituted  an  investigation  and  Weitling 
was  subsequently  imprisoned  for  his  agitation. 

About  the  same  time  (1844)  Karl  Marx  was  expelled  from 
Cologne  for  expressing  his  thoughts  too  freely  in  the  Rheinische 
Zeitung,  of  which  he  had  been  chief  editor  since  1842.  Among  the 


Historical  Introduction  15 

contributors  to  this  paper  were  Berthold  Auerbach,  Bruno  Bauer, 
Julius  Frobel,  Friedrich  List,  Robert  Prutz,  Dingelstedt,  Hoffmann 
von  Fallersleben,  Gutzkow,  and  Herwegh.  Of  these  List  and  Frobel 
had  been  in  the  United  States.  Marx  went  to  Paris  where  in  con 
junction  with  Ruge  he  published  the  Deutsch-franzdsische  Jahr- 
biicher  (1844)  of  which  only  two  numbers  appeared. 

Weitling  was  released  the  same  year  and  went  to  Hamburg, 
where  Hoffmann  and  Campe  published  his  Kerkerpoesien.  In  this 
publishing  house,  which  was  the  rendezvous  of  many  critics  of  so 
ciety,  he  met  Heine,  who  gives  an  interesting  and  humorous  account 
of  this  meeting  in  his  Gestdndnisse.  Heine  says  of  the  Communists 
in  general :  "Die  mehr  oder  minder  geheimen  Fiihrer  der  deutschen 
Kommunisten  sind  grosse  Logiker,  von  denen  die  starksten  aus  der 
Hegelschen  Schule  hervor  gegangen,  und  sie  sind  ohne  Zweifel  die 
fahigsten  Kopfe  und  die  energievollsten  Charaktere  Deutschlands. 
Diese  Doktoren  der  Revolution  und  ihre  mitleidslos  entschlossenen 
Jiinger  sind  die  einzigen  Manner  in  Deutschland,  denen  Leben  inne- 
wohnt,  und  ihnen  gehort  die  Zukunft."11  Heine  calls  Weitling  a 
man  of  considerable  talent  and  originality. 

In  August,  1844,  Weitling  went  to  London,  where  he  spoke  to 
the  Communists  of  many  lands  urging  them  to  unite.  March  30, 
1846,  he  met  Marx  and  Hngels  at  a  Communist  meeting  in  Brussels. 
These  men  were  driven  out  of  Paris  by  the  policy  of  Guizot.  The 
Brussels  meeting  ended  in  complete  disagreement,  and  a  few  months 
later  Weitling  received  a  call  from  a  society  in  New  York,  of  which 
Hermann  Kriege  was  the  leader,  to  come  to  that  city  to  edit  the 
Volks-Tribun,  a  weekly  paper  representing  the  interests  of  the 
worker.  Towards  the  end  of  1846  he  arrived  in  New  York  just  as 
the  Volks-Tribun  had  discontinued  publication.  He  was  penniless  but 
friends  aided  him  and  he  published  and  sold  a  new  edition  of  his 
Evangelism.  When  the  Revolution  of  1848  broke  out  the  "Bef  reiungs- 
bund,"  which  was  organized  after  the  model  of  the  Society  of  the  Just, 
commissioned  him  to  represent  their  cause  in  Germany.  Dowiat,  an 
exiled  clergyman,  who  had  been  active  in  communistic  circles  in  New 
York,  accompanied  him  and  they  arrived  in  Paris  at  the  end  of  the 


11  G.  Karpeles,  Heines  S'dmtliche  Werke  (Hesse)  VIII,  37,  40;   cf.  Elster 
edition,  VI,  45  f.  and  553. 


r 


1 6  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

June  riots.  From  there  Weitling  travelled  via  Frankfort  and  Heidel 
berg  to  Berlin,  distributing  broadsides  and  pamphlets  as  he  went. 
After  publishing  a  short-lived  weekly,  Der  Urwahler,  he  was  expelled 
from  Berlin  and  subsequently  from  Hamburg.  In  the  haste  of  his  de 
parture  two  trunks  containing  books  and  papers  were  lost.  Ger 
many  at  this  time  was  not  a  congenial  place  for  men  with  new 
theories  of  society. 

In  January,  1850,  the  Central  Laborers'  Union  was  organized 
at  New  York  under  Weitling's  direction.  One  of  its  duties  was  to 
found  and  maintain  a  communistic  colony,  Communia,  in  Clayton 
County,  Iowa.  The  Republik  d'er  Arbeiter,  with  Weitling  as  editor, 
was  established  as  the  official  organ  of  the  society.  At  last  Weitling 
had  escaped  the  strict  censor  and  now  he  had  a  paper  in  which  he 
could  publish  his  ideas  and  outline  his  plans. 

The  paper  was  published  first  as  a  sixteen-page  monthly,  then 
as  a  weekly,  and  finally  again  as  a  monthly  for  about  five  years. 
The  title  suggests  the  goal  towards  which  it  aimed.  The  paper  is 
surprisingly  mild  in  tone  and  preaches  no  radical  revolutionary 
measures.  In  the  first  number  of  January,  1850,  Weitling  has  given 
a  somewhat  vague  picture  of  his  ideas  concerning  this  new  republic. 
The  republic  is  to  consist  of  nothing  but  laborers,  craftsmen,  farm 
ers,  artists,  and  teachers.  The  laborers  and  teachers  are  to  hold  the 
elective  offices  of  the  government.  Everybody  must  work  for  the 
common  good,  for  "Alles,  was  unsere  Dichter,  Philosophen,  unsere 
Schongeister  und  Aristokraten  das  Hochste  nennen,  Alles,  was  sie 
verehren,  anpreisen  und  zu  erreichen  streben,  ist  nur  das,  was  es  ist 
und  kann  nur  erreicht  werden,  durch  ein  Volk,  das  arbeitet,  und 
wird  um  so  eher  erreicht,  werden,  wenn  ein  Volk  sich  so  einrichtet, 
dass  der  Ertrag  der  Arbeit  dem  ganzen  Volke,  das  arbeitet,  zu  Gute 
kommt  und  wenn  es  darum  auch  diese  Einrichtungen  durch  Arbeiter- 
wahlen  bestimmt  und  regelt,  so  dass  Jedem  der  voile  Verdienst 
seiner  Fahigkeit  und  seines  Fleisses  wird.  *  *  *  Jetzt  wird  der 
Begriff  Arbeiter  leider  theils  verachtlich,  theils  einseitig  aufgefasst. 
Arbeiter  aber  sind  alle,  ob  sie  nun  als  Prasidenten  des  Staats,  als 
,  Lehrer,  Professoren  oder  Handwerker  fungiren.  Der  Kapitalist 
aber  ist  als  solcher  kein  Arbeiter."  The  paper  had  agencies  in  all 
the  larger  cities  of  the  country  and  its  circulation  reached  a  few 


Historical  Introduction  17 

thousand.  The  German  American  newspapers,  as  a  whole,  praised 
Weitling's  undertaking,  which  also  advocated  an  exchange  bank  and 
a  workingmen's  congress. 

During  1850  Franz  Arnold,  a  speaker  and  agitator  of  ability, 
spoke  at  meetings  in  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Cin 
cinnati  in  the  interests  of  the  paper.  The  number  of  subscribers  in 
creased  but  some  misunderstanding  arose  and  Arnold  gave  up  the 
task.  Many  laborers  lost  interest  in  the  movement  as  soon  as  they 
were  comfortably  located.  Such  articles  as,  for  example,  Proben 
moderner  Gefiihlsbildung,  Die  Entwickelung  der  Gleicheitstheorien, 
Der  Fortschritt  der  Menschheit,  Die  Antriebe  sur-  Vereinigung, 
Philosophie  des  Kommunismus,  and  Die  deutsche  Tagespresse  in 
Amerika,  which  took  up  a  good  part  of  the  space,  doubtless,  did 
not  ordinarily  appeal  to  the  man  accustomed  to  earn  his  daily 
bread  by  the  sweat  on  his  brow.  Nevertheless,  the  paper  enjoyed 
temporary  prosperity. 

At  its  call  the  first  national  convention  of  German  workingmen 
met  in  Philadelphia,  October  22-28,  1850.  Representatives  were 
present  from  St.  Louis,  Louisville,  Pittsburgh,  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  Buffalo,  Williamsburg,  Newark,  Baltimore,  and  Cincinnati. 
They  represented  a  total  membership  of  about  4,500.  The  resolu 
tions  passed  related  to  the  exchange  bank,  associations  of  laborers, 
the  organization  of  a  political  party,  education  and  instruction, 
propaganda,  colonies,  and  the  organization  of  the  convention.12 
Some  of  the  principles  were  rather  impracticable,  while  others  were 
somewhat  ahead  of  the  times.  The  congress  voted  a  monthly  edi 
tion  of  the  Republik  der  Arbeiter  of  4,800  copies. 

An  interesting  feature  of  this  convention  of  labor  unions  was 
their  intention  to  found  colonies  in  various  parts  of  the  Union.  The 
only  attempt  was  made  at  Communia  in  Clayton  County,  Iowa,  where 
some  Swiss  communists  had  settled  in  the  late  forties.  By  Decem 
ber,  1850,  ten  colonists  were  living  at  Communia.  Weitling  thought 
that  such  a  colony  would  be  a  haven  of  refuge  for  the  newly  arrived 
immigrant  and  for  all  those  who  wished  to  escape  the  corrupt 
industrial  society  of  the  cities.  All  property  was  to  be  owned  in 


12 Republik  der  Arbeiter  (1850),  I,  pp.  169-175. 

2 


1 8  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

common.  New  candidates  were  first  put  on  probation  for  three 
months  as  regards  conduct,  good  health,  and  ability  to  do  a  specified 
kind  of  work,  and  then  after  paying  an  entrance  fee  of  ten  dollars 
they  might  be  admitted  as  members.  After  giving  three  months' 
notice  any  member  might  withdraw  and  have  all, the  property  he  con 
tributed  returned  to  him,  one-third  upon  leaving,  one-third  in  a  year, 
and  the  rest  within  two  years.  By  a  two^ttyirds  vote  a  member 
might  be  excluded  for  good  reasons.  A  committee  of  three  chosen 
by  popular  vote  for  one  year  were  to  administer  the  business  of  the 
society ;  they  must  report  every  three  months.  The  revised  consti 
tution  of  the  "Communia  Association"  states  that  the  purpose  of  the 
colony  was  farming,  trading,  and  manufacturing.  All  work  was  to 
be  performed  in  common.13 

In  October,  1851,  the  colony  owned  1,240  acres  of  land,  and  the 
total  value  of  their  property  was  about  $6,500.  There  were  eighteen 
male  members.  The  colonists  lived  comfortably  and  were  supplied 
with  an  abundance  of  game:  deer,  quails,  prairie  chickens,  wild 
pigeons,  and  ducks.  From  July  I  to  December  31,  1852,  there  were, 
on  the  average,  40  persons  in  the  colony  who  consumed  provisions 
worth  $486.81,  i.  e.  a  daily  rate  of  six  and  two-thirds  cents  per  per 
son.14 

In  March,  1853,  Heuberger,  of  New  York,  who  had  studied  law 
in  Germany,  gave  a  report  of  the  colony.  He  complained  that  the 
colony  was  not  protected  against  the  cold  north  wind  and  that  the 
water  was  impure.  There  were  two  substantially  built  buildings, 
which  were  occupied  by  five  Wurttembergers,  four  Prussians,  three 
Badenese,  one  Nassovian,  four  Bavarians,  one  Hungarian,  two 
Swiss,  one  Low  German,  and  one  Saxon — a  total  of  twenty-two 
men.  Moreover,  there  were  eight  women  and  sixteen  children  not 
classified  as  to  nationality  by  the  reporter.  The  forty-six  colonists 
represented  various  degrees  of  culture.  Heuberger  found  life  on  the 
prairie  very  monotonous  with  too  much  work  and  too  little  diver 
sion  ;  his  own  work  in  the  kitchen  was  very  irksome. 

Weitling  had  great  hopes  for  the  success  of  his  colony,  but  it 


13  For  the  constitutions  see  Republik  der  Arbeiter  for  December,  1850,  p. 
182 ;  and  September  3,  1853,  p.  282  ff. 

14  Republik  der  Arbeiter,  February  5,  1853. 


Historical  Introduction  19 

was  rather  a  modest  beginning  for  the  nation-wide  or  even  world 
wide  republic  of  toilers  which  he  thought  could  be  inaugurated.  He 
made  at  least  four  trips  to  Communia  and  the  reports  which  were 
published  in  his  paper  give  interesting  pen  pictures  of  the  cities 
through  which  he  passed. 

In  November,  1853,  thirty-six  men,  sixteen  women,  and  eight 
een  children  were  living  in  the  colony.  About  the  same  time  Weit- 
ling  was  elected  "manager,"  but  soon  discord  arose  among  the  mem 
bers  and  in  a  short  time  the  colony — the  humble  beginning  of  the 
majestic  republic  of  toilers — was  rapidly  breaking  up.  The  lack  of 
systematic  management,  the  sinking  of  money  in  buying  a  saw  mill, 
and  a  dispute  over  the  title  to  the  land  hastened  its  end.  At  the 
same  time  the  Workingmen's  League  (Arbeiterbund)  which  at  its 
greatest  height  numbered  about  2,000  members,  was  fast  declining 
and  soon  ceased  to  be  of  much  consequence. 

Withdrawing  from  public  life  now,  Weitling  became  a  clerk  in 
the  Bureau  of  Immigration  at  Castle  Garden.  Aside  from  his  daily 
duties  he  studied  Astronomy  and  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Schilling, 
July  22,  1869,  he  was  still  seeking  a  publisher  for  his  Astronomy. 
In  the  subsequent  labor  movement  he  did  not  take  part  publicly. 
January  22,  1871,  he  was  present  at  the  "Verbruderungsfest"  of  the 
German,  French,  and  English  sections  of  the  International  in  New 
York,  and  three  days  later  he  died. 

In  his  socialistic  agitation  Weitling  sought  the  support  of  such 
men  as  Karl  Heinzen  and  Gustave  Struve,  but  they  were  too  aristo 
cratic  and  individualistic  to  join  hands  with  a  "Handwerker."  Feb 
ruary  5,  1848,  Weitling,  who  was  then  at  New  Orleans,  wrote  to 
Heinzen  at  New  York,  asking  for  his  support,  but  the  latter  an 
swered  :  "Kin  Kommunist  steht  mir  ebenso  fern  wie  der  Kaiser  von 
Russland.  Der  Kommunismus  ist  in  meinen  Augen  ebenso  frei- 
heitsfeindlich,  kulturwidrig,  ja  barbarisch  wie  der  Despotismus  der 
gekronten  Unmenschen,  deren  Partei  Sie  aus  'Ordnungsliebe'  er- 
greifen."15  Heinzen  was  accustomed  to  dub  the  communists 
"Schwefelbanditen"  and  the  latter  termed  him  a  "Communisten- 
fresser."  Heizen  believed  that  the  "true  Republicanism,"  as  he 


"Karl  Heinzen,  Erlebtes  (II.  Theil),  Nach  meiner  Exilirung.  Gesammelte 
Schriften,  IV.  Bd.,  Boston,  1874,  p.  139. 


2O  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

delineated  it,  offered  the  solution  for  all  political  and  social  prob 
lems.16 

Weitling  has  characterized  the  situation  thus :  "Jeder  will  ein 
Blattchen  herausgeben,  jeder  will  einen  Verein  lei  ten,  jeder  eine 
Kasse  griinden,  jeder  allein  auf  seine  Faust  fur  irgend  eine  Phrase 
Volkslehrer  sein.  Da  mischt  der  Bine  Decentralisation  mit  Socia- 
lismus,  der  Andere  Atheismus  mit  Vernunft,  der  Dritte  turnt  socia- 
listisch,  der  Vierte  wirkt  fur  den  entschiedenen  Fortschritt.  Der 
Eine  will  den  Geist,  der  Andere  die  Menschheit,  der  Dritte  die 
Volker,  der  Vierte  die  Arbeiter,  der  die  Sanger,  ein  Anderer  die 
Schneider,  die  Turner,  die  Fliichtlinge  u.  s.  w.  in  Vereine  bringen. 
Und  hundert  Andere  wollen  dies  Alles  auch,  aber  mit  einer  kleinen 
Veranderung."17  Struve  was  accused  of  having  spent  his  best  years 
filling  his  head  with  the  erratic  teachings  of  science  and  phrenology. 

The  first  man  to  spread  the  doctrines  of  Weitling  among  the 
Germans  of  the  United  States  was  Hermann  Kriege,  who  at  the 
head  of  his  society,  "]ung  Amerika,"  had  invited  the  former  to 
edit  the  Volks-Tribun.  Kriege,  who  was  the  founder  of  this  period 
ical,  had  landed  at  New  York  in  1845  as  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
five,  having  been  born  in  Westphalia.  He  was  educated  at  Leipzig 
and  Berlin,  where  he  had  come  under  the  influence  of  Hegelian  phil 
osophy.  At  the  latter  city  he  organized  a  socialist  reading  circle 
and  also  lectured  to  the  soldiers  and  workingmen  on  Weitling' s 
Garantien  der  Harmonie  und  Freiheit.  One  of  his  friends  was  the 
ill-fated  Robert  Blum.  After  a  term  of  imprisonment  he  was  forced 
to  flee  to  Belgium,  whence  he  went  via  London  to  New  York,  where 
he  established  the  Volks-Tribun  in  January,  1846.  In  America  he 
sought  to  elevate  the  political  position  of  the  Germans,  condemned 
slavery,  joined  the  Free  Soil  movement,  and  worked  for  the  home 
stead  laws. 

His  Communism  was  declared  compromising  and  not  repre 
sentative  of  European  Socialism  in  1846,  by  Engels,  Gigot,  Heil- 


18  For  articles  on  Heinzen  see  Amerikanischer  Turner-Kalender,  1881,  p. 
59  ff.  (J.  Lucas)  ;  1882,  p.  71  ff.  (C.  H.  Boppe)  ;  and  Heinzen-Gedenkbuch. 
Zur  Hrinnerung  an  Karl  Heinzen  und  an  die  Enthullungsfeier  des  Heinzen- 
denkmals  am  12.  Juni  herausgegeben.  Boston;  Deut-Am.  Geschichtsblatter, 
Chicago,  1915  (Schinnerer). 

17  Republik  der  Arbeiter,  1850,  p.  180  ff. 


Historical  Introduction  21 

berg,  Marx,  Seiler,  von  Westphalen,  and  Wolf,  who  were  then  in 
Brussels.  Kriege  considered  them  academic  Socialists  who  were 
not  interested  in  the  practical  application  of  their  theories.18 

In  1848  Kriege  returned  to  Germany  and  agitated  Socialism, 
but  after  attending  the  workingmen's  convention  at  Berlin  he  be 
came  disillusioned  and  wrote  to  a  friend:  "Das  Proletariat,  fur 
das  wir  geschwarmt,  lebt  nicht."  After  his  return  to  America  the 
next  year  he  became  thoroughly  disheartened  with  Communism  and 
declared  himself  outright  for  "democracy."  After  going  from  place 
to  place  intending  to  follow  a  literary  career,  he  finally  succeeded 
Arno  Voss  as  editor  of  the  Illinois  Staatszeitung,  which  now  became 
a  tri-weekly.  His  mind  had  for  some  time  been  on  the  verge  of  be 
coming  unbalanced.  He  resigned  his  position  and  went  to  New 
York,  where  he  died  December  31,  1850.  Kriege  was  too  idealistic 
and  temperamental  to  succeed  in  organizing  the  people  for  action. 

Another  contemporary  of  Weitling,  who  spread  socialistic  and 
revolutionary  ideas  in  New  York,  was  Dr.  Edmund  Ignatz  Koch. 
He  distributed  about  a  thousand  copies  of  Blanqui's  revolutionary 
writings.  Other  members  of  the  Society  of  the  Just  who  were 
parties  in  the  celebrated  Communist  trial  at  Cologne  in  1851,  and 
who  subsequently  came  to  America,  were  Dr.  Abraham  Jacobi,  a 
physician  in  New  York,  August  Willich,  who  gained  fame  in  the 
Civil  War,  Dr.  Everbeck,  and  August  Becker;  however  these  men 
were  not  very  active  in  making  propaganda.  Many  of  the  political 
rights  for  which  they  fought  in  Germany  were  in  practice  in  the 
United  States  and  so  their  ardor  cooled. 

Even  before  this  time  Heinrich  Koch,  the  "Antipfaff,"  of  St. 
Louis,  was  exercising  all  his  powers  to  reform  the  church,  state,  and 
society.  Koch  was  born  at  Baireuth  in  1800,  learned  the  watch 
maker's  trade,  and  followed  it  until  his  radical  ideas  on  politics 
landed  him  in  prison.  He  was  among  those  present  at  the  cele 
brated  Hambacher  Fest,  May  27,  1832.  After  his  arrest  and  release 
he  sailed  for  America,  where  he  arrived  at  Baltimore  the  same  year. 
Later  at  St.  Louis  he  entered  politics,  advocating  the  Democratic 
cause,  but  having  become  imbued  with  the  ideas  of  Fourier,  Brisbane, 


Volks-Tribun,  June  27,  1846. 


\L> 


22  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

and  R.  D.  Owen,  he  became  a  communist  newspaper  editor  and 
founded  first  the  Antipfaff,  later  called  the  Vorwaerts,  and  then  a 
radical  political  paper,  Die  Reform.  Thus,  says  Anton  Eickhoff,19 
he  fought  on  three  fronts,  using  both  prose  and  poetry  as  his  wea 
pons  ;  besides  he  was  a  brilliant,  popular  orator. 

During  the  forties  the  labor  movement  spread  over  the  whole 
United  States,  but  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  German 
"Handwerker."  In  St.  Louis  the  Germans  were  divided  into  two 
camps,  the  workingmen  and  the  somewhat  aristocratically  inclined 
"Lateiner,"  however  Koch  was  at  first  on  a  friendly  footing  with 
both  and  many  of  his  poems  appeared  in  the  Anzeiger  des  Westens, 
the  organ  of  the  latter.  Koch  was  the  first  to  advocate  Communism 
in  St.  Louis  and  as  early  as  1846  he  founded  a  Communist  Society 
which  he  as  their  captain  led  to  the  front  when  the  Mexican  War 
broke  out.  He  helped  equip  the  company  at  his  own  cost,  even  mort 
gaging  his  house  in  so  doing.  After  the  war  he  took  up  his  trade 
again  as  watchmaker  and  editor,  but  soon  abruptly  changed  his 
course,  sold  all  his  property,  and  with  his  family  and  a  few  faithful 
followers  established  a  communist  colony  on  the  prairies  of  Iowa. 
In  a  very  short  time  his  project  proved  a  dismal  failure;  it  cured 
him  of  his  radical  notions  and  made  him  more  tolerant  towards  the 
ideas  of  others.  Now  at  the  age  of  fifty  he  made  a  serious  attempt 
to  conform  to  social  convention,  and  started  to  learn  English  more 
thoroughly.  Since  then  he  plied  his  trade  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and 
continued  to  write  poems  and  articles  for  German  American  news 
papers.  His  death  occurred  in  1879. 

Koch's  activities  in  St.  Louis  introduced  Weitling's  ideas. 
Meetings  were  held,  societies  were  organized,  and  propaganda  was 
made.  Attempts  were  made  to  Americanize  the  movement,  so  that 
it  might  not  be  confined  to  the  Germans.  Calls  were  made  upon  the 
Eastern  branches  to  print  pamphlets  and  extracts  from  the  Republik 
der  Arbeiter  in  English.20 

On  many  days  of  1849  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  Ger 
man  immigrants  arrived  in  St.  Louis.21  The  floods,  an  epidemic 


"  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  XII,  pp.  211-215. 
20  Republik  der  Arbeiter,  1850,  p.  141. 
91  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  V,  p.  loif. 


Historical  Introduction  23 

of  cholera,  and  destructive  fires  caused  much  suffering  among  the 
immigrants.  About  25,000  Germans  were  living  in  the  city  at  this 
time,  of  these  quite  a  number  were  political  refugees.  These  ref 
ugees,  as  a  rule,  cherished  grievances  against  the  tyrannical  author 
ities  of  Germany,  but  did  not  generally  advocate  Communism,  never 
theless  all  found  many  things  even  in  democratic  America  which 
needed  reforming  or  had  to  be  abolished. 

By  i8£4j:he  German  laborers  had  some  form  of  organization 
in  all  the  larger  cities,  especially  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Balti 
more,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  and  Louisville.  These  organizations 
were,  in  general,  based  on  Weitling's  theories.  They  met  with  con 
siderable  opposition  since  they  were  foreign,  and  also  the  conserva 
tive  German  element  decried  the  spread  of  Communism.  It  was 
also  the  period  when  the  forty-eighters,  who  were  not,  as  a  rule,  in 
clined  to  associate  with  the  "Handwerker,"  were  still  arriving  in 
large  numbers. 

Friedrich  Hassaurek,  speaking  of  the  second  period  of  the  po 
litical  immigration  of  the  forty-eighters,  remarked :  "Sowie  vorher 
die  Revolutions-Vereine,  so  bildeten  sich  jetzt  eine  Menge  von  poli- 
tischen,  religiosen  oder  vielmehr  anti-religiosen,  socialistischen  und 
kommunistischen  Reform —  und  Fortschritts-Vereinen,  die  eine  ganz 
merkwiirdige  Thatigkeit  entwickelten. 

"Es  kamen  die  Frei-Manner-Vereine  und  Freien  Gemeinden,  die 
es  hauptsachlich  auf  religiose  Aufklarungs-Propaganda  abgesehen 
hatten,  dabei  aber  auch  andere  Gegenstande  in  den  Kreis  ihrer 
Besprechungen  zogen. 

"Es  entstanden  eine  Menge  socialistischer  und  kommunistischer 
Vereine  und  zahlreiche  Arbeiter-Organisationen,  die  ihre  Theorien 
sogleich  praktisch  in's  Werk  setzen  wollten.  Der  Franzose  Cabet 
griindete  die  Colonie  Ikarien  in  Illinois,  und  der  deutsche  Schneider 
Weitling  die  Colonie  Communia  in  Iowa,  die  natiirlich  bald  zu 
Grunde  gingen."22 


M  From  an  address  delivered  at  Cincinnati,  May  25,  1875,  at  the  seventh 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  German  Pionier-Verein,  in  Der  Deutsche 
Pionier,  VII,  pp.  112-125. 


24  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

MODERN  GERMAN  SOCIALISM  IN  AMERICA. 

Probably  the  first  of  the  forty-eighters  to  spread  the  doctrines 
of  Karl  Marx  and  Friedrich  Engels  as  expounded  in  the  Com 
munist  Manifesto  (1848)  was  Joseph  Weydemeyer  ( 1818-1866 ),23  a 
Prussian  military  officer,  who  consecrated  himself  to'aid  the  laborer. 
Later  he  became  a  radical  Communist  and  a  newspaper  editor.  He 
was  expelled  from  Germany  for  radical  utterances  in  his  paper,  so 
he  emigrated  to  America,  landing  at  New  York,  November  7,  1851. 
Slavery,  protective  tariff,  free  soil,  and  the  anti-rent  troubles  in 
New  York  were  the  political  questions  of  the  day.  Weitling  was 
thoroughly  stirring  up  the  German  laborers  of  New  York.  In  the 
spring  of  1852  Weydemeyer  published  a  monthly,  Die  Revolution, 
of  which  but  two  numbers  appeared.  In  the  second  of  these  was 
published  Marx'  Der  achtzehnte  Brumaire  des  Louis  Bonaparte.2* 
For  advocating  these  new  things  Weydemeyer  was  attacked  in  the 
German  American  newspapers  by  some  of  the  older  class  of  Com 
munists,  but  he  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Jacobi  and  A.  Cluss  pub 
lished  a  rejoinder  in  the  New  York  Criminals eitung  of  November  7, 
1853.  Hermann  Meyer,  a  German  merchant,  was  also  a  faithful 
co-worker  of  Weydemeyer,  who  gathered  about  himself  a  "Pro- 
letarierbund"  and  who  took  part  in  founding  an  "Amerikanischer 
Arbeiterbund"  in  Mechanics'  Hall,  New  York,  March  20,  1853. 

The  movement  was  supported  by  a  few  faithful  followers  in 
Boston,  in  Newark,  and  those  in  New  York.  Weitling  did  not 
agree  with  these  exponents  of  Marxism,  and  Weydemeyer  called 
the  former's  paper  an  antique  sheet,  of  interest  only  to  research 
students  and  antiquarians.  The  movement  never  attained  large  pro 
portions,  and  in  1856  Weydemeyer  went  to  Milwaukee,  where  he 
became  a  surveyor  and  journalist.25 


23  Joseph  Weydemeyer  und  sein  Anteil  an  der  deutschen  Bewegung  der 
40er  Jahre  und  an  der  amerikanischen  Bewegung  der  $oer  Jahre,  in  Pionier 
(New  York  Volks-Z eitung  Kalender}  1897,  P-  54  ff-  by  F.  A.  Sorge. 

24  Weydemeyer  was  a  personal  friend  of  Karl  Marx. 

25  During  the  winter  of  1859-60  Weydemeyer  and  a  certain  Left  published 
a  Chicago  paper  for  a  short  time,  after  that  the  former  contributed  to  the 
Illinois  Staatszeitung.     The  latter  year  he  returned  to  New  York  and  di 
rected  the  surveying  of  Central  Park.    In  the  spring  of  1861  he  superintended 
the  construction  of  ten  forts  around  St.  Louis  under  Fremont.    After  serving 
throughout  the  war  he  became  a  contributor  to  the  St.  Louis  Westliche  Post. 
Later  he  and  Hilgard  published  a  weekly,  Die  Neue  Zeit.    In  1865  he  became 
auditor  of  St.  Louis.    He  died  August  20,  1866. 


Historical  Introduction  25 

Some  of  the  refugees  of  the  Revolution  of  1848  founded  the 
Communist  Club  in  New  York,  which  held  its  first  meeting  October 
25,  1857.  Its  purpose  was  to  exercise  absolute  free  thought  in  reli 
gious  matters  and  to  disseminate  socialistic  doctrines.  They  recog 
nized  no  creed,  no  privileged  class,  no  distinction  of  color,  and  broke 
with  tradition  generally.  The  members  were  not  laborers  but  edu 
cated  liberals  influenced  by  Marx.  It  corresponded  with  Marx  in 
London,  Weydemeyer  in  Milwaukee,  J.  P.  Becker  in  Geneva,  the 
juornalist,  Otto  Reventlow,  in  Cincinnati,  and  with  the  Icarians 
through  the  musician  Albrecht  in  Philadelphia.26  The  club  attracted 
some  attention  when  in  1858  it  held  a  celebration  attended  by  sev 
eral  thousand  people  of  various  nationalities  in  memory  of  the  June 
riots  of  1848  in  Paris.  One  prominent  man  who  took  part  in  found 
ing  the  club  was  F.  A.  Sorge27  (1828-1906),  a  fugitive  of  the 
Badenese  Revolution,  who  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  1852.  Be 
fore  this  in  Geneva  he  had  come  in  contact  with  Moses  Hess,  Wil- 
helm  Liebknecht,  Dronke,  J.  P.  Becker,  Fritz  Kamm,  Fritz  Jacoby, 
and  others.  From  his  father,  who  was  a  clergyman,  he  inherited 
rationalistic  tendencies,  and  he  remained  primarily  a  Freethinker 
even  for  a  time  after  joining  the  Communist  Club.  Later  he  became 
the  most  active  representative  of  Marxian  Socialism  in  America. 
From  1869-1876  he  was  the  chief  leader  of  the  German  American 
laborers.  After  meeting  Marx  and  Engels  at  The  Hague  in  1872  he 
was  more  enthusiastic  than  ever  in  spreading  the  doctrines  of  scien 
tific  Socialism. 

From  1861  to  1867  the  Communist  Club  held  no  meetings,  for 
the  Civil  War  had  absorbed  all  their  attention.  A  large  number  died 
to  save  the  Union.  The  club  was  reorganized  March  8,  1867,  when 
Conrad  Carl  moved  that  it  unite  with  the  German  general  labor 
union  (allgemeiner  Deutscher  Arbeiter  Verein),  which  motion  was 
carried  several  months  later.  This  led  to  the  founding  of  the  Social 
ist  Party  for  New  York  and  vicinity  toward  the  close  of  1867,  under 
the  leadership  of  C.  Carl,  C.  Eilenberg,  A.  Kamp,  F.  Krahlinger,  and 


29  Cf.  Pionier  Kalender  (N.  Y.  Volks-Zeitung),  1906,  pp.  55-68,  (Her 
mann  Schlueter). 

"Die  Neue  Zeit  (Stuttgart),  XXV,  pp.  145-147;  Pionier  Kalender,  1908 
(Schlueter). 


26  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

E.  A.  Petersen.  This  party  consisted  chiefly  of  Germans;  it  was 
only  short-lived  and  did  not  succeed  politically  ;28  nevertheless  it  has 
the  distinction  of  being  the  first  political  party  in  America  with 
modern  socialistic  views. 

Not  only  the  educated  class,  but  also  German  "Handwerker," 
brought  in  the  ideas  of  Marx  and  Lassalle  after  the  Civil  War.  In 
1865  a  small  labor  society  of  fourteen  members  was  organized  on  the 
principles  of  Lassalle.  They  discussed  such  works  as  Lassalle's 
speeches  and  the  Communist  Manifesto,  and  also  celebrated  all  sorts 
of  commemoration  days  in  order  of  prominent  leaders  as  Blum  and 
Lassalle.  In  Chicago,  during  1865,  some  followers  of  Lassalle 
joined  a  labor  society  which  dated  from  the  fifties.  This  society  was 
represented  at  the  convention  of  radical  Germans  at  Cleveland  in 
1863.  Some  devoted  followers  of  Marx  established  the  "Deutscher 
Bildungsverein"  at  New  York,  which  resulted  in  the  first  real  asso 
ciation  of  American  and  European  laborers  in  April,  1866,  when  it 
joined  the  I.  A.  A.  (Internationale  Arbeiter- Association ).  These 
were  some  of  the  earlier  attempts  to  organize  the  Germans  with 
socialistic  ideas  in  America. 

Since  the  sixties  definite  endeavors  were  made  to  crystallize  the 
socialistic  sentiment  in  America,  which  effort  later  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  a  political  party.  At  first  this  movement  stood  largely 
under  the  influence  of  the  I.  A.  A.  organized  by  Karl  Marx  at  Lon 
don  in  1864.  London  at  that  time  was  the  gathering  place  of  the 
refugee  Communists  of  many  lands.  Two  other  noted  exiles  there 
were  Engels  and  Mazzini.  The  I.  A.  A.  extended  its  influence  to 
America  when  in  1867,  at  New  York,  a  German  branch  was  organ 
ized  under  the  leadership  of  F.  A.  Sorge.  This  section  planned  to 
organize  similar  branches  in  all  the  cities  of  the  Union.  Reiter  and 
Cohnheim,  two  forty-eighters,  were  instrumental  in  organizing  a 
branch  at  San  Francisco  as  early  as  1868.  The  number  of  sections 
grew  to  thirty  or  more  after  1871,  and  these  were  originally  com 
posed  chiefly  of  Germans.  The  chief  centers  were  New  York,  San 
Francisco,  Chicago,  New  Orleans,  and  Newark.  The  most  zealous 
and  influential  man  in  the  movement  was  F.  A.  Sorge,  the  friend  and 
co-worker  of  Marx  and  Engels. 


Waltershausen,  Der  Moderne  Sozialistrms,  p.  38  ff. 


Historical  Introduction  27 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Americans  had  organized  the  N.  L.  U. 
(National  Labor  Union).  At  its  first  convention  at  Baltimore  in 
1866  E.  Schlegel,  a  Lassallian  and  representative  of  the  German 
Workingmen's  Association  of  Chicago,  acquainted  the  English- 
speaking  contingent  with  German  Socialism.  The  union  from  now 
on  became  gradually  permeated  with  Socialism.  At  the  third  con 
vention  held  at  New  York  in  1868  the  Labor  Reform  Party,  under 
the  guidance  of  W.  H.  Sylvis,  was  organized.  Socialism  was  taking 
root  in  American  soil,  and  the  N.  L.  U.  and  the  I.  A.  A.  were  grad 
ually  approaching  each  other  in  their  principles.  At  the  fifth  con 
vention  held  at  Cincinnati  in  1870  the  N.  L.  U.  declared  in  favor  of 
the  I.  A.  A.  and  expected  to  join  it  soon.  F.  A.  Sorge  was  instru 
mental  in  bringing  about  the  union,  but  already  in  1870  the  N.  L.  U. 
practically  dissolved  into  a  political  and  a  trade  union  faction.  With 
this  ended  the  first  or  diplomatic  phase  of  the  I.  A.  A.  in  America.29 

When  the  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870  broke  out  the  German 
American  sympathizers  of  the  I.  A.  A.  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and 
St.  Louis  protested  vigorously  against  the  bloodshed,  but  the  spirit 
of  nationalism  prevailed.  Among  those  protesting  were  the  news 
paper,  the  Arbeit er-Union,  "der  Allgemeine  deutsche  Arbeiter- 
verein,"  the  "Bund  der  Freidenker"  of  New  York,  and  the  German 
Socialists  of  Chicago. 

During  the  year  the  cause  of  Socialism  was  at  a  low  ebb.  There 
were  but  a  few  hundred  Socialists  in  New  York  City.  But  the  next 
year  the  I.  A.  A.  increased  from  six  to  twenty-four  sections  and  the 
number  of  members  reached  the  maximum  of  about  5,000,  most  of 
whom  were  Germans.  A  few  of  the  members  were  educated  Amer 
icans  whose  socialistic  ideas  harked  back  to  the  Fourierism  of  the 
forties.  January  27,  1871,  the  various  sections  of  New  York  held  a 
"Verbruderungsfest"  at  which  Weitling  made  his  last  public  ap 
pearance. 

July  6,  1872,  the  first  convention  of  the  I.  A.  A.  in  America 
was  held ;  twenty-two  sections  were  represented.  The  newly  elected 
"federated  council"  was  composed  of  three  Germans,  two  French 
men,  two  Irishmen,  one  Swede,  and  one  Italian,  with  no  native 


M  John  R.  Commons  in  Archiv  fur  die  Geschichte  des  Sozialismus  und  der 
Arbeiterbewegung,  etc.,  Leipzig,  1911-1914. 


28  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

American  on  the  list.  During  this  year  the  general  headquarters  of 
the  I.  A.  A.  were  transferred  to  New  York,  and  F.  A.  Sorge  became 
general  secretary.  Sorge  resigned  in  August,  1874,  when  the  old 
I.  A.  A.  practically  ended  as  the  result  of  dissension. 

In  the  summer  of  1874  one  faction  organized  the  Social  Demo 
cratic  Labor  Party  of  North  America,  whose  platform  was  a  com 
promise  between  the  realistic  views  of  the  American  laborers  and  the 
idealistic  views  of  the  German  agitators.  The  union  of  the  German 
Social  Democrats  at  Gotha  in  1875  made  the  American  factions  de-' 
sirous  to  unite,  and  at  their  first  annual  convention  at  Philadelphia 
it  was  decided  to  pacify  the  quarreling  members  and  bring  about 
harmony.  The  next  year,  1876,  the  various  factions  united  at  Phila 
delphia  to  found  the  Workingmen's  Party  of  the  United  States.  The 
delegates  were  Sorge  from  Hoboken,  Weydemeyer  from  Pittsburgh, 
Conzett  from  Chicago,  Braun  from  Philadelphia,  Strasser  from  New 
York,  Gabriel  from  Newark,  and  McGuire  from  New  Haven.30 
They  represented  about  3,000  members  of  different  organizations. 
At  the  second  convention  of  the  party,  December  25-31,  1877,  at 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  the  name  Socialist  Labor  Party  of  North 
America  was  adopted.  The  party  remained  essentially  in  the  hands 
of  Germans  and  never  won  a  large  following,  although  it  made 
earnest  efforts  to  gain  adherents  among  English-speaking  workers. 
A  large  faction  objected  to  a  fusion  with  the  trade  unions,  fearing 
that  thereby  they  would  have  to  sacrifice  some  of  their  socialistic 
principles.  By  1899  the  party  had  only  4,500-5,000  paying  members, 
of  whom  one-fourth  lived  in  New  York.31 

i/  Socialism  received  a  new  impetus  through  the  hard  times  of 
1877-78,  and  the  strikes  that  accompanied  them.  It  was  estimated 
that  2,000,000  people  were  out  of  work  in  the  United  States;  of 
these  50,000  were  in  New  York  City  alone.  This  state  of  affairs 
furnished  a  fertile  soil  for  propaganda,  and  violence  often  resulted  in 
the  industrial  districts.  The  public  generally  associated  this  lawless 
ness  with  political  Socialism;  it  failed  to  distinguish  clearly  be 
tween  the  violence  of  the  Paris  Commune  and  Marx'  criticism  of 


30  Waltershausen,  Der  Moderne  Sozialismus,  p.  107  ff. 

31  Die  Neue  Zeit,  XVIII,  i:    111-118  (Dietzgen). 


Historical  Introduction  29 

capital.  Socialism  made  gains  in  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Milwaukee, 
Louisville,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  San  Francisco. 

Since  the  suppression  of  the  Paris  Commune  in  1871  and  espe 
cially  since  the  passage  of  the  anti-Socialist  laws  of  1878,  following 
the  attempted  assassination  of  Emperor  William  the  First,  a  large 
number  of  German  Socialists  came  to  America.32  Most  of  them 
were  laborers  and  craftsmen;  some  were  journalists;  and  a  few 
had  been  members  of  the  Reichstag.  Some  of  the  moving  spirits 
coming  over  at  that  time  were  F.  Leib,  Paul  Grottkau,  Gustav  Lyser, 
and  Heinrich  von  Ende,  who  were  all  active  in  making  propaganda. 
The  year  1879  showed  a  marked  increase  in  the  number  of  German 
immigrants. 

An  interesting  publication  relating  to  the  effects  of  the  anti- 
Socialist  law  of  1878  is  Nach  Zehn  Jahren,  Material  und  Glossen 
zur  Geschichte  des  Sozialistengesetzes.  I.  Historisches,  1889.  //. 
Die  Opfer  des  Sozialistengesetzes,  1890.  London.  The  facts  were 
obtained  through  a  questionnaire  sent  out  by  a  committee  of  the 
fugitives  in  New  York.  It  contains  among  other  things  a  list  of 
names  of  persons  driven  from  Germany,  and  a  list  of  books,  period 
icals,  and  other  printed  matter  excluded  from  Germany  during  the 
years  i878-88.33 

Serious  attempts  were  made  to  crystallize  and  Americanize  this 
exotic  socialistic  thought.  So  well  did  they  succeed  that  an  article 
appeared  in  the  North  American  Review™  in  1879,  which  proposed 
to  show  "how  far  this  element  of  German  Socialism  has  already 
fixed  its  fangs  in  the  most  susceptible  portion  of  our  people,  and 
threatens,  with  a  larger  increase  of  representatives  and  loquacious 
agitators,  to  diffuse  its  poison  into  all  classes  sufficiently  indigent 
and  sufficiently  ignorant  to  join  the  great  caravan  of  the  discon 
tented."35  The  author  proceeds  to  show  how  well  organized  the 
movement  was  and  how  threatening  it  loomed  up.  "No  one  could 


32  Cf.  Eduard  Bernstein,  Die  Geschichte  der  Berliner  Arbeiter  Bewegung. 
3  Bde.,  Berlin,  1907.    See  II :  338  ff.  for  a  reprint  of  the  "Ausnahmegesetz" ; 
cf.  also  Joseephy. 

33  Cf.  also  Zwolf  Jahre  Sozialistengesetzes.     Hin  Beitrag  zur  Geschichte 
des  Sozialistengesetzes  und  der  sozialdemokratischen  Bewegung  in  Deutsch- 
land.     Berlin,  1890. 

"Vol.  128,  pp.  371-387  and  481-492. 
35  Ibid.,  p.  375. 


30  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

have  been  more  surprised  at  the  discovery  of  so  perfect  an  organiza 
tion,  the  fanatic  earnestness  of  its  followers,  and  the  strength  of 
its  numbers."36  The  writer  accuses  Bismarck  of  secretly  encourag 
ing  the  emigration  of  Socialists  to  America  and  of  paying  their  ex 
penses  in  addition.  He  concludes  (page  492)  :  "The  powerful  and 
growing  organization  which  now  honeycombs  the  country  must  be 
laid  low  before  we  have  forgotten  the  smouldering  fires  of  Pitts 
burgh  and  the  insurrection  which  extended  through  fourteen  states 
of  the  Union."37 

The  writer  exaggerated  the  situation,  but  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  Socialists  did  carry  on  a  vigorous  propaganda.  Adolf 
Douai  in  the  Jahrbuch  fur  Soziale  Wissenschaft  (1879)  reported 
that  the  whole  press  of  the  country  which  two  years  ago  took  no 
note  of  Socialism  was  then  filled  with  articles  decrying  the  spread 
of  it.  To  the  press  and  the  general  public  Socialism  meant  robbery, 
arson,  and  other  disturbances.  Native  Americans  stood  aghast  and 
so  few  joined  the  movement  that  Lawrence  Gronlund  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  in  1880  he  could  count  all  the  native  American  So 
cialists  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand. 

In  1 88 1  the  German  Social  Democrats  sent  Louis  Viereck  and 
F.  W.  Fritzsche,  two  Socialist  deputies  in  the  Reichstag,  to  America 
to  acquaint  the  German  Americans  with  the  plight  of  their  party 
under  the  severe  anti-Socialist  laws.  They  arrived  at  New  York  in 
February  and  were  welcomed  by  large  numbers  at  mass  meetings  in 
New  York,  Newark,  Philadelphia,  Milwaukee,  Chicago,  and  other 
cities.  Several  thousand  dollars  were  collected  for  their  cause.  This 
lecture  tour  aroused  interest  anew  in  Socialism  but  the  interest  soon 
subsided.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Germany  Fritzsche  again  re 
turned,  this  time  with  J.  Vahlteich,  another  Socialist  deputy,  and  the 
former  retired  to  private  life  in  Philadelphia.  The  Socialist  press 
accused  him  of  being  a  slacker  and  even  a  turncoat. 

During  the  eighties  anarchism  and  revolutionary  socialism 
threatened  to  disrupt  the  Socialist  Labor  Party ;  the  former  predom 
inated  in  New  York  and  the  latter  in  Chicago.  Until  the  fall  of 


38  Ibid.,  p.  387. 

87  Cf.  William  Haller,  Reply  to  an  Article  in  the  North  American  Review 
for  April  and  May,  1879.    Cincinnati,  1879. 


Historical  Introduction  31 

1882  the  Socialists  under  Paul  Grottkau  maintained  the  leadership. 
Then  John  Most,  who  had  just  served  a  sixteen  months'  sentence  at 
hard  labor  in  London  for  an  article  in  his  Freiheit  congratulating 
the  Nihilists  upon  the  assassination  of  Alexander  the  Second,  came 
to  America.  Most  had  early  imbibed  socialistic  doctrines  and  be 
come  a  most  ardent  and  fearless  defender  of  them,  so  much  so,  that 
he  was  thrown  into  prison  successively  in  Austria,  Saxony,  Prussia, 
and  England.  He  now  started  on  a  lecture  tour  of  the  United 
States,  throwing  out  his  fire-brands.  As  a  result  of  his  agitation 
from  1882-83  over  a  score  of  revolutionary  clubs  sprang  up  and 
flourished.  A  convention  of  anarchists  and  revolutionary  Socialists 
from  twenty-six  states  met  at  Pittsburgh  in  October,  1883,  to  dis 
cuss  ways  and  means  of  agitation.  Most  of  the  representatives 
were  laborers  of  German  extraction.  Spies  and  Most,  of  New  York, 
were  the  most  prominent  speakers.  The  International  Working  Peo 
ple's  Association  was  organized  and  various  radical  doctrines  were 
promulgated. 

John  Most  as  a  journeyman  bookbinder  had  early  become  ac 
quainted  with  Socialism  and  he  carried  on  a  vigorous  campaign  in 
its  behalf  in  Austria,  and  Germany.  In  the  meantime,  under  the 
influence  of  Reinsdorf  and  Dave,  he  became  a  practical  anarchist. 
Upon  his  arrival  at  New  York,  December  18,  1882,  he  delivered  a 
lecture  in  Cooper  Institute,  preaching  the  coming  revolution.  On 
his  subsequent  lecture  tours  he  received  considerable  notice  from 
the  American  press  which,  however,  almost  invariably  subjected  him 
to  scathing  ridicule.  At  Cleveland  a  German  sent  him  a  rope  with 
the  legend : 

"Ferschtekiller  Johann,  was  willst  Du  im  freisten  der  Lander  ? 

Nimm  Dynamit  oder  hang'  selbst  urn  den  Hals  Dir  den  Strick." 
For  a  few  years  Most  preached  his  radical  doctrines  to  his  heart's 
content,  but  finally  he  also  came  into  conflict  with  the  American  au 
thorities.  After  the  execution  of  the  Chicago  Anarchists  his  agitation 
had  almost  spent  its  force.  The  ardor  of  the  indefatigable  Most 
was  cooling,  for  in  Zwischen  Gal  gen  und  Zuchthaus  he  confesses : 
"In  Amerika  gleichen  wir  den  Rufern  in  der  Wiiste  deren  Stimme 
ungehort  verhallt.  Der  Socialismus  hier  ist  deutsch  and  der  Anar- 
chismus  ein  Veilchen,  das  im  Verborgenen  bluht,"  and  continuing 


32  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

further  on,  "Weshalb  ich  all  dies  sage?  Weil  ich  es  uberdriissig 
bin,  mich  selbst  und  andere  in  Illusionen  zu  wiegen."38 

Anarchism  had  made  serious  breaks  in  the  Socialist  ranks  who 
were  at  that  time  none  too  well  united.  The  radical  element  increased 
and  native  Americans  condemned  Anarchists  and  Socialists  alike, 
but  the  labor  unions  were  gradually  adopting  socialistic  principles. 
Efforts  were  made  to  unite  the  different  factions  before  the  advent 
of  the  Baltimore  convention,  December  26-28,  1883,  but  only  the 
delegates  of  the  Socialist  Labor  Party  appeared,  and  they  denounced 
Most  and  his  party.  At  the  Cincinnati  convention  two  years  later 
the  party  reiterated  the  right  of  citizens  to  bear  arms,  but  they  did 
not  advocate  the  propaganda  of  the  deed.  On  account  of  the  Hay- 
market  tragedy  of  1886  Anarchism  was  finally  discredited  and  the 
summary  and  sweeping  punishment  that  followed  gave  it  a  setback 
from  which  it  has  not  been  able  to  recover.  It  lingered  on  for  a 
time,  but  even  the  few  faithful  ones  quarreled  among  themselves 
and  were  unsparing  in  denouncing  each  other. 

In  the  fall  of  1886  Socialism  received  a  new  stimulus  through 
the  arrival  of  Dr.  Aveling  and  his  wife  Eleonore  Marx-Aveling,  the 
daughter  of  Karl  Marx.  They  lectured  at  various  places  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Socialist  Labor  Party,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  the 
doctrine  among  the  English-speaking  laborers.  They  published  their 
book,  The  Labor  Movement  in  America,  at  London  in  1888.  About 
the  same  time  Wilhelm  Liebknecht  spoke  to  the  German  American 
workmen  on  the  merits  of  Socialism.  He  was  severely  attacked  by 
the  Freiheit  of  New  York,  but  its  influence  was  waning.  He  pub 
lished  Hin  Blick  in  die  neue  Welt  at  Stuttgart  in  1887. 

As  a  political  party  the  Socialists  were  not  united;  one  faction 
was  opposed  to  the  participation  in  politics  while  the  other  advocated 
alliance  with  the  labor  unions  to  increase  their  voting  strength. 
This  disagreement  between  the  factions  continued  and  the  member 
ship  of  the  party  dwindled.  In  the  meanwhile  organized  labor  had 
gained  enormously  and  socialistic  principles  gradually  crept  into 
their  platforms.  Many  of  the  former  were  recent  immigrants  who 


38  For  Most  see  Waltershausen,  Chap.  VIII;  Acht  Jahre  hinter  Schloss 
und  Riegel.  Skizzen  aus  dem  Leben  John  Mosts  von  Anonymous  Veritas, 
New  York,  1886;  John  Most,  Memoiren,  Erlebtes,  Hrforschtes  und  Erdachtes, 
New  York,  1903-05;  and  other  writings  of  Most 


Historical  Introduction  33 

were  not  very  familiar  with  the  conditions.  As  late  as  1894  it  was 
still  difficult  for  the  Socialist  Labor  convention  to  transact  its  busi 
ness  in  English,  since  most  of  the  delegates  were  Germans  and  did 
not  speak  English  very  fluently.39  Prominent  leaders  as  Victor  L. 
Berger  saw  the  need  of  Americanizing  the  movement.  He  did  much 
to  reconcile  the  various  factions  and  to  make  them  effective  at  the 
polls.  Berger,  who  is  of  German  parentage,  was  born  in  Austria  in 
1860,  and  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  Socialist  to  be  elected 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  July  29,  1901,  a  convention  of 
Socialist  delegates  representing  thirty  states  and  territories,  the 
largest  convention  to  date,  met  at  Indianapolis  to  bring  about  har 
mony.  Here  all  except  the  more  irreconcilable  faction  of  the  So 
cialist  Labor  Party  united  in  the  Socialist  Party.  This  party  has 
grown  rapidly  since  then,  while  the  Socialist  Labor  Party  has  grad 
ually  lost  political  prestige.  Hillquit  states  that  according  to  a  re 
cent  census  seventy-one  per  cent,  of  the  members  of  the  Socialist 
Party  are  native  citizens  of  the  United  States.40 


18  St.  Louis  Arbeiter  Zeitung,  August  10,  1901. 

40  Morris  Hillquit,  Socialism  Summed  Up,  New  York,  1912,  p.  107. 


CHAPTER  II. 
SOCIALISM  AND  THE:  GERMAN  AMERICAN  PRESS. 

With  the  coming  of  the  political  refugees  of  the  third  and 
fourth  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century  German  American  jour 
nalism  received  a  new  stimulus  and  attained  a  higher  grade  of  ex 
cellence.  The  press  now  became  the  vehicle  for  the  thoughts  and 
sentiments  of  these  impetuous  and  energetic  fugitives  who  were 
bubbling  over  with  rage  at  the  arbitrary  censorship  placed  on  Ger 
man  journalism.  Almost  all  the  German  American  papers  of  this 
period,  excepting  religious  publications,  became  more  or  less  revolu 
tionary  and  progressive  and  tinged  with  communistic  and  socialistic 
ideas.  The  press  was  the  literary  life  of  these  off-shoots  of  Young 
Germany. 

The  political  tendency  of  many  newspapers  established  during 
the  thirties  is  indicated  by  their  titles  as,  for  instance,  the  Freiheits- 
freund,  established  at  Chambersburg  in  1834,  and  edited  by  Victor 
Scriba ;  since  1836  it  was  published  at  Pittsburgh.  The  Weltbilrger 
was  founded  at  Cincinnati  in  1834,  and  another  with  the  same  title 
at  Buffalo  three  years  later.  Among  the  best  known  editors  is  Lud- 
wig  A.  Wollenweber,  whose  maternal  grandfather  had  fought 
against  the  British  at  Yorktown.  Wollenweber  associated  with  the 
extreme  Liberals  in  Germany,  among  them  being  Wirth,  Sieben- 
pfeiffer,  Rotteck,  Welker,  Harro  Harring,  Fein,  Baer,  Schiller,  and 
Savoy.  However,  before  he  could  have  the  pleasure  of  attending 
the  "Hambacher  Fest"41  in  May,  1832,  he  was  compelled  to  flee  to 
America,  for  having  transgressed  the  edict  of  the  German  censor. 
He  came  by  way  of  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  contributed 
to  Wesselhoeft's  Alte  und  Neue  Welt,  and  later  on  August  28,  1837, 
he  established  Der  Freisinnige,  the  second  attempt  at  a  German 
American  daily.  Some  of  the  other  men  connected  with  this  short 
lived  paper  were  Wilhelm  Beschke,  Stephan  Molitor,  and  Major  von 


41  See  Memoirs  of  Gustave  Koerner,   1809-1896,    (Cedar   Rapids,   Iowa, 
1909),  I,  pp.  187-195,  for  an  account  of  it. 

[34]  -  «-</ 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  35 

Fehrenthal.     The   next   year   Wollenweber   became   editor   of   the 
newly  established  Philadelphia  Demokrat.42 

Buffalo,  likewise,  had  a  Demokrat,  and  St.  Louis  a  Tribune  in 
1838.  The  Democrats  of  Cincinnati  began  to  publish  the  Volksblatt 
in  1836,  and  elected  Heinrich  Rodter,  an  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Wirth 
and  Siebenpfeiffer — all  of  whom  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Ham- 
bacher  Fest — to  the  editorship.  The  New  York  Herold  established 
in  February,  1836,  was  edited  by  Zerlaut,  an  exile  from  Baden,  who 
stood  for  radical  views  in  politics.  Forsch,  a  rationalistic  preacher, 
founded  the  Vernunftglaubiger  in  1838,  and  Samuel  Ludvigh  began 
publishing  his  Wahrheitssucher  the  next  year;  both  appeared  in 
New  York.  Most  of  the  names  of  the  newspapers  established  dur 
ing  the  two  decades  beginning  about  1832  had  their  counterpart 
among  the  German  papers  of  the  time.43  In  general,  the  editors  re 
flected  views  rooted  in  European  conditions  of  the  time. 

In  the  majority  of  papers  of  this  period  the  liberal  tendency  ii 
politics  and  religion  is  dominant.  Heinrich  Koch  began  publishing 
his  Antipfaff  at  St.  Louis,  April  18,  1842,  which  since  May  10,  1845, 
was  called  the  Vorivdrts.  It  discontinued  publication  the  next  year, 
but  January  2,  1847,  Koch  came  out  with  Der  Reformer,  a  radical 
progressive  weekly,  the  organ  of  the  Communist  Club.  However  on 
account  of  Koch's  antagonism  towards  old  well  established  institu 
tions  and  his  domineering  attitude  towards  the  society,  the  paper 
soon  had  to  discontinue  publication  and  the  society  lost  members.44 
Another  early  St.  Louis  periodical  exhibiting  radical  tendencies  in 
social  and  religious  matters  was  Der  Freisinnige  f  a  weekly,  first  ap 
pearing  November  24,  1846;  its  publisher  was  L.  F.  Volland,  and 
its  editor  G.  Scho.  It  was  but  short-lived.  Among  the  active  Com 
munists  in  St.  Louis  at  this  time  were  August  Marie,  Joseph  Heise, 
and  Dayler ;  of  these  the  two  former  contributed  to  Kriege's  Volks- 
Tribun. 

In  1849  two  talented  journalists,  Karl  L.  Bernays  and  Heinrich 


42  For  Wollenweber  see  Mitteilungen  dcs  Dcutschen  Pionier-Vereins  von 
Philadelphia,  Hefte:    XIII,  1-32;    XIV,  1-28;    XV,  1-28,  containing  autobio 
graphical  material  with  comment  by  C.  F.  Huch. 

43  Cf .  Ludwig  Salomon,  Geschichte  des  Deutschen  Zeitungswesens.  3  Bde. 
Oldenburg  and  Leipzig,  1906. 

"Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  IV,  p.  4  (1872). 


36  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Bornstein,  who  had  been  associated  with  noted  Communists  on  the 
staff  of  the  Vorwarts  at  Paris,  arrived  at  St.  Louis.  Bernays  was 
editor  of  the  Mannheimer  Abendzeitung  in  1840,  but  his  articles  were 
too  radical  for  the  authorities  and  he  fled  to  Paris  where  Bornstein, 
the  founder  and  editor  of  the  Vorwarts  (1845),  met  him.  Bernays 
became  the  responsible  editor  of  the  Vorwarts**  Of  this  newspaper 
venture  Bornstein  later  wrote:  "Bald  trat  Bernays  mit  mir  in  die 
Redaktion  des  Vorwarts,  seine  Freunde  Arnold  Ruge,  Karl  Marx, 
Engels,  Weber,  Burgers,  Bakunin  folgten  seinem  Beispiele  und  es 
bildete  sich  durch  ihre  und  die  thatige  Mitwirkung  von  Heine  und 
Herwegh  ein  Kreis  von  Mitarbeitern  am  Vorwarts  heraus,  wie  ihn 
damals  gewiss  kein  zweites  Blatt  aufzuweisen  hatte."46 

Subsequently  Bornstein  was  editor  of  the  Anzeiger  des  West  ens 
for  many  years,  however  his  radical  views  were  tempered  in  the 
New  World.  He  was  connected  with  the  German  theater  at  St. 
Louis,  and  translated  and  adapted  many  plays.  He  wrote  a  novel, 
Die  Geheimnisse  von  Saint  Louis,  in  1851,  and  his  memoirs  appeared 
in  1881.  In  1865  he  returned  to  Europe  where  he  wrote  articles  for 
American  papers.  His  death  occurred  at  Vienna  in  I8Q2.47 

The  first  socialistic  German  newspaper  of  New  York  was  Vic 
tor  Wilhelm  Frohlich's  Die  Zeit,  a  weekly,  dating  from  1844.  .  The 
New  York  Schnellpost,  established  in  1843,  by  Wilhelm  Eichthal, 
published  much  correspondence  from  Europe  which  propagated 
Communism.48  The  V olks-Tribun,  Organ  derdeutschen  Socialre- 
form- Association,  edited  by  Hermann  Kriege  and  published  from 
January  5  to  December  31,  1846,  was  the  first  German  labor  paper 
in  New  York.  It  was  called  a  continuation  of  Baboeuf's  Tribun  du 


45  Ibid.,  V,  p.  182.    An  article  by  Fr.  Schnake. 

"Bornstein  in  Der  Westen  (Sunday  edition  of  the  Illinois  Staatszeitung) , 
August  3,  1879.  Reprinted  in  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  XI,  p.  458  ff. 

"  Briimmer,  Dichterlexikon. 

48  After  Eichthal's  death  in  February,  1848,  Karl  Heinzen  became  editor. 
Now  the  paper  became  unpopular  and  lost  subscribers.  It  finally  suspended 
publication  September  i,  1851 ;  the  New  York  Deutsche  Zeitung  followed  as 
a  continuation  of  it,  which  paper  in  turn  stopped  publication  in  a  few  months. 
Heinzen  also  published  a  "Probenummer"  of  the  weekly  Volkerbiind,  and 
then  the  Janus  in  the  early  part  of  1852.  In  the  latter  part  of  1853  he  edited 
the  Herold  des  Westens,  of  Louisville,  and  with  1854  began  his  famous 
Pionier  (Louisville,  Cincinnati,  New  York,  Boston— 1854  to  1879).  Heinzen 
opposed  Communism,  slavery,  and  priestcraft,  and  championed  woman's  rights, 
republicanism,  and  radical  free  thought. 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  37 

peuple  by  Kriege.  On  the  title  page  was  a  warning  vignette  of  the 
Neapolitan  Masaniello,  "der  grosse  Fischer,  der  fiir  Eine  zertretene 
Unschuld  ein  ganzes  Reich  in  Flammen  setzte,"  and  beside  it  the 
motto:  Halt!  Die  Arbeit  hoch!  Nieder  mit  dem  Kapital!  March 
7,  1846,  the  sub-title  was  changed  to  Organ  des  Jungen  Amerika.** 
After  July  fourth  the  vignette  and  motto  no  longer  appeared.  As 
to  the  policy  of  the  paper  Kriege  says : 

"Also  Tribun  des  Volkes  soil  unser  Blatt  sein,  d.  h.  der  Armen, 
der  Gequalten,  der  Zertretenen,  die  reichen  Unterdriicker  werden 
keinen  sonderlichen  Geschmack  daran  finden.  Ebensowenig  die 
Pfaffen;  die  Advokaten,  die  ^mterjager  aller  Art,  fiir  sie  enthalt 
es  keinen  Buchstaben,  sie  brauchen's  gar  nicht  anzusehen. 

"Dem  Kapitalisten  mag  es  gleich  das  Motto  sagen,  wie  wir's 
mit  ihm  meinen.  *  *  * 

"Annoncen  fiir  Geld  finden  in  unserm  Blatte  keinen  Platz,  es 
ist  nicht  auf  den  Geldverdienst  berechnet."50 

A  notice  in  its  columns  indicated  its  attitude  towards  labor  and 
capital :  "Einzelne  Blatter  werden  an  Arbeiter  zu  vier  cents  ausge- 
geben.  Kapitalisten  miissen  den  ganzen  Jahrgang  pranumerieren." 

The  Tribun  was  an  ardent  exponent  of  the  Free  Soil  movement. 
It  opposed  colonization  schemes  and  advocated  political  action  of  the 
laborers.  The  Free  Soil  movement  was  also  supported  by  the  New 
Yorker  Staatszeitung,  Buffalo  Telegraph,  Philadelphia  Demokrat, 
Hochwdchter  of  Cincinnati,  Chicago  Volksfreund,  and  the  Wiscon 
sin  Banner. 

The  Communists  of  Philadelphia  were,  likewise,  organizing  and 
spreading  their  principles  in  the  forties.  Some  of  the  more  promi 
nent  ones  who  had  formerly  been  associated  with  the  Society  of  the 
Just  in  Europe  were  Benzon,  Kroner,  Porter,  Ruelius,  Bauer,  Mundt, 
and  George  Dietz,  editor  of  the  Adoptivbiirger,  a  labor  paper,  pub 
lished  in  that  city.  Before  this  time  Dietz  had  published  the  Pitts- 
burger  Beobachter.  The  Adoptivbiirger  was  practically  discontinued 
in  January,  1846,  although  a  few  numbers  appeared  later. 

Frederick  W.  Thomas51  (1808-1877),  who  came  to  America  in 
1837,  founded  the  Freie  Presse  of  Philadelphia,  May  27,  1848. 


"For  the  principles  of  Jung  Amerika  see  Volks-Tribun,  January  31,  1846. 
50  Volks-Tribun,  January  5,  1846. 

81  For  short  biography  see  Mitteilungen  des  Deutschen  Pionier-Vereins 
von  Philadelphia,  1907,  V,  21  ff. 


38  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Weitling  in  March,  1850,  called  its  editor,  Wm.  Rosenthal,  a  faith 
ful  co-worker.  It  was  originally  a  labor  paper,  but  since  1856  it 
became  a  Republican  organ.52  The  Beobachter  am  Ohio  (Louisville) 
established  March  16,  1844,  by  Heinrich  Beutel,  endorsed  the  pur 
poses  of  Weitling's  Republik  der  Arbeiter  upon  its  appearance  in 
1850.  The  Cincinnati  Hochwdchter  dating  from  about  1845  an^ 
published  by  Johann  G.  Walker,  disseminated  liberal  ideas  in  politics 
and  religion.  It  stopped  publication  in  1851,  but  was  revived  by 
Friedrich  Hassaureck. 

Dr.  Samuel  Ludvigh  (1801-1869),  a  native  of  Styria,  wrote  a 
book  against  Metternich  in  1833,  and  consequently  had  to  start  on 
his  travels.  Four  years  later  he  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  where  he 
edited  the  Alte  und  Neue  Welt  a  few  months.  In  1839  he  was 
publishing  the  W ahreitssucher  at  New  York,  but  in  the  next  year 
he  established  the  Wahrheitsverbreiter  at  Baltimore.  Here  also 
arose  his  Fackel,  a  progressive  quarterly,  which  was  published  suc 
cessively  at  Baltimore,  Boston,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  Charles 
ton,  St.  Paul,  and  since  1865,  at  Cincinnati,  where  it  expired  with 
Ludvigh  four  years  later.  Ludvigh  seems  not  to  have  associated 
much  with  the  Communists,  but  was  chiefly  concerned  in  spreading 
his  rationalistic  views. 

The  German  American  newspapers  of  the  forties  were,  for  the 
most  part,  edited  by  political  refugees  from  Europe,  which  was  not  a 
congenial  place  for  journalists  with  liberal  views  at  that  time.  In 
America  they  found  almost  unlimited  freedom  of  the  press  of  which 
opportunity  they  took  due  advantage.  Accordingly  the  language 
used  in  the  papers  was  frequently  rather  strong  and  certainly  not 
elegant.  One  journalist  who  had  high  ideals  respecting  the  press  in 
a  nation  was  George  F.  Seidensticker,  who,  upon  becoming  the 
editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Demokrat  in  the  fall  of  1846,  addressed 
his  readers  in  the  following  fashion : 

"Es  verkennt  jetzt  wohl  kein  Mensch  mehr,  dass  die  Zeitungs- 
presse  in  alien  civilisirten  Landern,  vorzuglich  aber  in  den  Vereinig- 
ten  Staaten,  worin  wir  das  Gliick  haben  zu  leben,  einen  solchen  Ein- 
fluss  besitzt,  dass  man  sie  fuglich  eine  Macht  nennen  kann.  Aber 
sie  ist  nur  dann  eine  Macht,  wenn  sie  in  der  That  dem  lautern  Geiste 


*2Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  IX,  p.  282  f. 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  39 

und  Willen  des  Volkes  Worte  verleihet,  wenn  sie  der  getreue  Aus- 
druck  der  offentlichen  Meinung,  der  Herold  der  Volkssouveranitat 
ist.  Hieraus  ergiebt  sich  von  selbst  die  hohe  Pflicht  und  Verant- 
wortlichkeit  der  Zeitungsschreiber.  Sind  diese  sich  ihrer  Stellung 
irgend  bewusst,  so  miissen  sie  erkennen,  das  zunachst  eine  anstan- 
dige  wurdevolle  Sprache  ihre  erste,  unerlassliche  Pflicht  ist.  Wenn 
Konige  sich  Majestaten,  Hoheiten  u.  s.  w.  nennen,  so  hat  ein  grosses 
Volk,  wie  das  der  Vereinigten  Staaten,  noch  mehr  recht  dazu ;  denn 
dieses  hat  seine  Macht  und  Hoheit  in  und  durch  sich  selbst,  wahrend 
Jene  die  ihrige  nur  vom  Volke  entlehnen. — Was  ist  ein  Konig  ohne 
Volk?! — Wenn  also  Zeitungen,  welche  im  In-  und  Auslande  gewis- 
sermassen  den  Geist  und  Willen  des  Volkes  reprasentiren  sollen,  in 
ihrer  Sprache  Anstand  und  Wiirde  bei  Seite  setzen,  so  beleidigen  sie 
offenbar  die  Volkshoheit  und  konnen  nimmermehr  als  Ausdruck 
der  offentlichen  Meinung  betrachtet  werden."53 

Seidensticker  also  solicited  contributions  for  his  paper  from 
Europe.  He  corresponded  with  Freiligrath,  who  was  then  in  Lon 
don,  and  who  promised  to  become  a  contributor.  Freiligrath  tried  to 
interest  Karl  Biichner,  Hoffman  von  Fallersleben,  and  Karl  Hein- 
zen.  Before  many  contributions  arrived,  however,  Seidensticker 
severed  his  connection  with  the  Demokrat  and  began  to  issue  Der 
Biirgerfreund,  which  appeared  every  Saturday  from  May  I,  1847, 
to  March  18,  1848,  and,  moreover,  contained  some  correspondence 
from  London  and  Germany.54 

During  the  decade  preceding  the  Civil  War  a  considerable 
number  of  German  American  periodicals  of  a  socialistic  leaning 
sprang  up.55  In  1850  the  Freie  Heimath,  edited  by  August  Glaser, 
who  was  also  contributing  to  Weitling's  newspaper,  began  publica 
tion  at  Philadelphia.  March  30,  1850,  the  Volksuertreter,  a  daily, 
was  established  by  Glaser,  N.  Schmitt,  and  J.  M.  Reichart,  also  at 
Philadelphia.  Both  these  papers  did  not  exist  long.  In  January  of 
this  year  Weitling  began  to  put  out  his  Republik  der  Arbeit er,  which 
existed  till  July,  1855.  It  came  out  first  as  a  sixteen-page  monthly; 
April  1 8,  1851,  it  changed  to  a  weekly,  and  it  ended  again  as  a 
monthly  in  1855.  On  the  title  page  is  represented  a  balance  on  one 
tray  of  which  are  the  words  Pflichten  und  Arbeiten,  on  the  other 


58  Volks-Tribun,  November  14,  1846.     (Quoted.) 

M  German  American  Annals  I,  I,  p.  75  ff. ;    for  a  list  of  papers  existing  in 
1848  see  Philadelphier  Demokrat,  June  21,  1848. 
58  Cf.  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  V,  334  f. 


40  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Rechte  und  Geniisse.  April  18,  1851,  the  sub-title  Centralblatt  der 
Propaganda  fur  die  Verbruderung  der  Arbeiter  is  added. 

In  December,  1850,  Weitling  expressed  himself  as  being  well 
satisfied  with  the  attitude  taken  by  the  German  American  editors, 
generally,  towards  his  undertaking.  In  Germany  he  says,  where  the 
press  was  edited  with  a  certain  "Gelehrtendiinkel,"  perhaps  only 
three  of  the  score  of  dailies  would  have  supported  his  theories,  but 
here  the  New  Yorker  Demokrat,  the  Philadelphia  Freie  Presse,  and 
the  Ohio  Beobachter  endorsed  them  unreservedly,  while  the  follow 
ing  were  favorable :  New  Yorker  Staatszeitung,  under  the  editor 
ship  of  W.  Dietz,  later  publisher  of  the  Virginia  Staatszeitung,  the 
Cincinnati  Arbeiterzeitung,  later  the  Union,  the  Pittsburgh  Courier, 
the  New  Orleans  Republikaner,  the  Fackel,  the  Illinois  Staatszei 
tung,  the  Baltimore  Correspondent,  the  New  York  Tribune,  the 
Milwaukee  Volksfreund,  the  Michigan  Tribune,  the  Baltimore  He- 
rold,  the  'Buffalo  Demokrat,  the  St.  Louis  Anzeiger  des  Westens, 
the  St.  Louis  Tribune,  the  Philadelphia  Demokrat,  the  New  York 
Schnellpost,  and  the  Cincinnati  Volksblatt.  The  movement  was  op 
posed  by  the  Zuschauer,  a  Whig  paper  of  Washington,  the  various 
religious  periodicals,  the  New  Yorker  Abendzeitung,  the  Buffalo 
Weltburger,  and  the  Westboten  of  Columbus.56 

New  Orleans,  via  which  city  many  German  immigrants  came 
in  this  period,  had  an  Arbeit er-Blatt,  a  weekly,  established  in  1850, 
and  edited  by  A.  Kattmann.  During  the  early  part  of  1852  Leopold 
Stiger  published  the  Communist  at  Cleveland. 

During  1853  Adolph  Strodtmann,  the  poet,  literary  historian, 
and  journalist,  was  publishing  his  illustrated  comic  weekly,  Die 
Lokomotive,  at  Philadelphia.  Like  so  many  papers  of  the  time  it 
was  a  losing  venture  financially.  It  was  somewhat  in  the  position  of 
a  post-Faustian  character  in  a  three  act  farce  published  in  it  who 
remarks : 

"Da  steh'  ich  nun,  ich  armer  Thor, 
Und  bin  so  dumm,  als  wie  zuvor, 
Und  hab'  kein  Geld,  doch  viel  Humor. 
Abersch  mit  dem  Humor  ohne  Geld 
Is  kein  Fortkommen  in  der  jitzigen  Welt."57 


M  Republik  der  Arbeiter,  1850,  p.  190  f. 

B7Die  Lokomotive,  p.  88.    Cf.  the  poem  by  Beyschlag,  p.  94. 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  41 

In  the  spring  of  1852  Joseph  Weydemeyer,  a  personal  friend 
of  Marx  and  Engels,  published  a  few  numbers  of  the  monthly,  Die 
Revolution;  the  second  number  contained  Marx'  Der  achtzehnte 
Brumaire  des  Louis  Bonaparte.  Dr.  Gottfried  Kellner,58  a  univer 
sity-bred  man  from  Gottingen  and  Heidelberg,  who  had  poured  out 
his  wrath  in  a  little  volume  of  Hessen-Lieder  directed  against  the 
Hessian  princes  and  who  had  edited  the  Hornisse  of  Cassel,  es 
caped  to  New  York  in  1852,  where  in  the  next  year  he  was  elected 
editor  of  the  Reform.  Three  years  later  he  went  to  Philadelphia  to 
edit  the  Demokrat,  since  he  was  not  in  thorough  sympathy  with  the 
Communists  of  New  York.  Weydemeyer  succeeded  him  as  editor 
of  the  Reform,  which  came  out  as  a  daily  since  October  15,  L853,  but 
suspended  publication  in  April  of  the  next  year.  Dr.  Abraham 
Jacobi,  of  Communist  fame  in  Cologne,  was  connected  with  this 
paper.  Schliiter  calls  it  the  most  important  of  all  communist  and 
socialist  labor  papers  established  by  the  forty-eighters.59 

Another  Reform  was  established  by  the  German  laborers  of 
Baltimore  in  1850.  The  Wecker,  which  succeeded  the  Baltimore 
Her  old  in  1851,  with  C.  H.  Schnauffer  as  editor,  was  at  first  in  sym 
pathy  with  Weitling's  agitation  but  later  changed  its  policy. 

The  Neu-Hngland  Zeitung,  of  Boston,  likewise  supported  the 
labor  movement  of  the  fifties,  as  did  the  Newarker  Zeitung,  pub 
lished  by  Fritz  and  Mathilde  F.  Anneke. 

Mathilde  Franziska  Anneke  (1817-84)  had  already  entered 
upon  a  journalistic  career  in  Germany  where  as  a  young  woman  of 
about  twenty  she  edited  the  Westfdlisches  Jahrbuch  in  conjunction 
with  Levin  Schikking,  Freiligrath,  and  others.  At  one  time  she 
received  a  pension  from  the  King  of  Prussia  for  her  talent  as  a 
writer,  but  she  had  to  forego  this  when  she  espoused  Communism. 
In  1847  sne  married  Fritz  Anneke,  a  former  Prussian  military  of 
ficer,  and  the  next  year  when  the  latter  was  a  political  prisoner,  she 
established  the  Neue  Kolnische  Zeitung,  which  was  soon  suppressed. 
She  transformed  the  paper  into  a  Frauenzeitung,  which  stood  for 


M  For  a  short  biographical  sketch  see  Mitteilungen  des  Deutschen  Pionier- 
V ere ins  von  Philadelphia,  1909,  X,  26-31. 

^Hermann  Schliiter,  Die  Anfdnge  der  deutschen  Arbeiterbewegung  in 
Amerika,  Stuttgart,  1907,  p.  148. 


42  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

woman's  rights  and  the  cause  of  labor.  Continued  political  turmoil 
caused  them  to  emigrate  in  1849  to  America,  where  in  1852  Mrs. 
Anneke  began  publishing  the  Deutsche  Frauen-Zeitung  at  Milwau 
kee.  Later  they  moved  to  Newark,  where  Anneke  founded  the 
Newarker  Zeitung,  which  labored  in  conjunction  with  Weitling  for 
the  organization  of  labor.  From  1860-65  Mathilde  Anneke  was  in 
Switzerland  and  contributed  to  the  New  York  Belletristisches  Jour 
nal  and  the  Illinois  Staatszeitung.  Since  1865  she  lived  for  the  most 
part  in  Milwaukee  until  her  death  in  1884. 

During  1850  and  1852  Karl  Marx  contributed  a  series  of  articles 
on  Germany  to  the  New  York  Tribune.60  Marx  had  been  recom 
mended  to  the  managing  director,  Charles  A.  Dana,  by  Ferdinand 
Freiligrath.  He  was  subsequently  engaged  as  regular  London  cor 
respondent.  The  letters  were  popular,  for  on  the  twelfth  of  March, 
1852  Dana  wrote:  "It  may  perhaps  give  you  pleasure  to  know  that 
they  (i.  e.  the  letters  on  Germany)  are  read  with  satisfaction  by  a 
considerable  number  of  persons,  and  are  widely  reproduced."  The 
Tribune  was  then  edited  by  Horace  Greeley  and  among  its  con 
tributors  were  Bruno  Bauer,  Bayard  Taylor,  George  Ripley,  and 
many  of  the  Brook  Farmers.  Marx  was  living  in  London  at  that 
time. 

On  March  2,  1853  some  laborers  and  journalists  of  New  York 
gave  a  banquet  in  the  Shakespeare  Hotel  in  honor  of  August 
Willich  who  had  just  arrived  from  Europe.  Red  flags  and  the  tri 
color  decorated  the  hall  where  250  plates  were  laid.  Willich  spoke 
in  an  address  of  the  failure  of  the  revolution  in  Europe,  but  proph 
esied  that  it  would  break  out  again  on  account  of  the  oppression  of 
the  lower  classes.  Addresses  were  also  delivered  by  Weitling, 
Rodel,  Hunemann,  Krantz,  Schramm,  Dr.  Kellner,  Standau,  H. 
Richter,  Komlossi,  and  H.  Ahrens.  A  sword  was  presented  with 
appropriate  ceremony  to  Willich,  and  $20.18  was  collected  for  the 
imprisoned  comrades  in  Cologne  and  Paris.  The  New  Yorker 
Staatszeitung  reported  the  banquet  as  follows  :61 


°°  Revolution  and  Counter-Revolution  or  Germany  in  1848  by  Karl  Marx. 
Edited  by  Eleanor  Marx  Aveling.  Chicago,  1914.  Note  by  the  editor  is 
dated  Sydenham,  April  1896. 

61  Quoted  by  Repwblik  der  Arbeiter,  March  12,  1853. 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  43 

"Griinthum  losgelassen.  Blutrothes  Melodrama  im  neusten  Cou- 
lissenreiszerstyl.  Zu  dem,  dem  Burger  Willich  zu  Ehren  veran- 
stalteten  Banquet  batten  sich  am  Mittwoch  Abend  vielleicht  mehr 
als  300  bartige  Germanen  in  dem  geraumigen  Saale  des  alten  kom- 
munistischen  Hauptquatiers  versammelt.  *  *  *  Die  aufgetragene 
Mahlzeit  und  auch  der  Wein  fanden,  wie  wir  berichtet  wurden,  all- 
seitiges  Lob;  aber  die  Zuthaten  zu  dem  Gastmahl,  die  Reden,  in 
denen  die  Revolution  im  Nu  'gefixt',  alle  Egoisten  gehangt  und  das 
gesammte  Eigenthum  der  Welt  unter  die  'wohlmeinenden  Revo- 
lutionare'  und  Kommunisten  vertheilt  wurde,  sollen  einigen  der 
Anwesenden  doch  etwas  unverdaulich  im  Magen  gelegen  haben." 

Willich  subsequently  furthered  the  cause  of  Communism  in 
Cincinnati,  Louisville,  Milwaukee,  and  St.  Louis.  For  a  while  pre 
ceding  the  Civil  War  in  which  he  served  with  distinction  he  edited 
the  Republikaner  of  Cincinnati. 

Among  the  obscure  Communist  newspapers  of  the  fifties  were 
Wilhelm  Rothacker's  Menschenrechte  and  Rittig's  Unabh'dngiger, 
both  published  at  Cincinnati.  Of  similar  character  was  the  Prole- 
tarier  of  Chicago  founded  by  H.  Rosch  in  1853.  Mention  is  made 
in  May,  1855,  °f  an  Arbeiterfreund  of  New  York  published  by  a 
certain  Heerbrandt  who  sought  to  gain  influence  among  the  work 
ers.62  About  this  time  Heinrich  Loose  occasioned  the  publication 
of  the  Arbeiter  at  Milwaukee  which  paper  stood  for  social  demo 
cratic  principles. 

From  March  27  to  May  8,  1858  the  Workingmen's  League  of 
New  York  maintained  as  their  organ,  Der  Arbeiter,  the  only  Ger 
man  labor  paper  in  that  city  openly  supporting  slavery.62  W. 
Banque  was  its  editor.  On  the  latter  date  it  changed  to  the  New 
York  Morgenzeitung,  a  Democratic  organ.  From  April  24,  1858 
to  May  26,  1860  the  General  Workingmen's  League  issued  the 
Soziale  Republik,  Organ  der  freien  Arbeiter,  which  was  a  radical 
anti-slavery  weekly.  February  18,  1860  the  sub-title  was  replaced 
by  the  motto :  Freiheit,  Gleichheit,  Brilderlichkeit.  Gustav  Struve 
was  the  editor.  Other  prominent  journalists  connected  with  it  were 
Wilhelm  Kopp,  Adolf  Douai,  Theodor  Bracklow,  and  P.  Rodel. — 
Just  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  Joseph  Weydemeyer  was 
publishing  the  Stimme  des  Volkes,  a  labor  paper  of  Chicago. 


62  Schliiter,  Die  Anfdnge,  etc.,  p.  156;   ibid.,  p.  169. 


44  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

During  the  war  there  was  a  lull  in  the  activity  of  the  communis 
tic  propagandists ;  regardless  of  their  various  economic  and  political 
theories  the  German  Americans  nobly  followed  the  flag  to  ex 
tinguish  slavery  and  save  the  Union. 

From  September,  1864,  to  December,  1865,  the  New  Yorker 
Arbeit erzeitung,  Wochlenblatt  fur  Unterhaltung  und  Belehrung, 
was  published  by  George  Degen.  It  spread  the  doctrines  of  Schulze- 
Delitzsch  but  was  chiefly  intended  for  general  reading.63  It  corn- 
batted  the  plans  of  Lassalle.  By  1868  the  International  had  estab 
lished  the  Abendpost  at  San  Francisco.  This  same  year  the  Revo 
lution  of  New  York  was  advocating  woman  suffrage  and  espous 
ing  the  cause  of  labor.  Towards  the  close  of  the  decade  Der 
Deutsche  Arbeiter,  a  short-lived  weekly,  made  its  appearance  in 
Chicago ;  it  was  published  by  the  German  Central  Union  of  Work- 
ingmen.  Much  general  reading  matter  was  presented  to  the  sub 
scribers  by  the  Arbeiter  Union  of  New  York  existing  from  June, 
1868  to  September  17,  1870.  It  changed  from  a  weekly  to  a  daily 
on  May  23,  1869.  Its  readers  were  chiefly  laborers  but  by  no  means 
all  Socialists.  Since  this  time  the  most  widely  distributed  German 
Socialist  papers  have  followed  the  policy  of  making  their  contents 
of  general  interest  to  satisfy  readers  of  different  tastes.  At  the  time 
of  the  Franco- Prussian  War  the  Arbeiter  Union  strongly  advocated 
internationalism  which  proved  unpopular,  so  that  it  gradually  lost 
subscribers  and  was  finally  forced  to  suspend  publication.  After  Dr. 
Landsberg,  Adolf  Douai  was  its  editor  for  two  years. 

Karl  Daniel  Adolf  Douai  (1819-88)  was  probably  the  ablest 
journalist  to  advocate  and  popularize  Marx'  scientific  Socialism  in 
America  from  1868  to  1888.  Practically  every  New  York  Socialist 
newspaper  and  many  others  of  this  period  contained  well  written 
articles  from  his  pen.  He  was  a  descendent  of  a  French  refugee 
family  and  a  native  of  Altenburg.  From  1838-41  he  studied  at 
Leipzig  and  then  for  six  years  he  was  a  private  tutor  in  Russia 
before  he  established  his  Realschule  at  Altenburg.  Being  arrested 
for  taking  part  in  the  Revolution  of  1848  he  could  not  continue  his 
school,  so  he  emigrated  to  New  Braunfels,  Texas,  where  he  taught 


3Schluter,  Die  Internationale,  p.  16  ff. 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  45 

school  and  later  published  an  abolitionist  paper  at  San  Antonio  until 
he  was  forced  to  flee.  For  four  years  he  lived  in  Boston  where  in 
1859  a  workingmen's  association  founded  by  him  helped  him  or 
ganize  a  school  with  a  kindergarten,  the  first  in  Boston.  In  1861  he 
went  to  Hoboken  and  since  1866  he  was  active  as  a  teacher  and 
journalist  in  New  York.  When  the  New  Yorker  Volkszeitung  was 
established  in  1878  he  was  elected  associate  editor.  Douai  was  a 
very  intelligent  and  persistent  advocate  of  his  cause.  He  remarked 
that  originally  the  Social  Democrat  agitation  could  turn  only  to  the 
philosophically  minded  Germans,  French,  Scandinavian,  and  Czech 
immigrants  since  English  translations  of  Marx  and  Lassalle  were 
lacking.  Furthermore  scientific  Socialism  had  to  be  popularized, 
for  he  remarks :  "Fur  die  angelsachsische  und  irische  Bevolkerung 
aber  ist  die  Philosophic  'neben  dem  Nichts  zuhause,'  und  das  ab- 
strakte  Denken  muss  ihnen  nach  hergebrachten  Schablonen  zuge- 
schnitten  sein  um  Anklang  zu  finden ;  Kritik  ist  ihre  schwache 
Seite."64  Douai  was,  after  all,  less  of  a  politician  than  a  writer  and 
teacher.65 

During  the  early  seventies  Socialism  was  somewhat  dormant, 
but  with  the  panic  of  1873  an(^  tne  labor  troubles  of  1877  it  was 
revived  and  new  journalistic  ventures  were  undertaken.  The  Ar- 
beiterzeitung  of  New  York  controlled  wholly  by  workingmen  and 
edited  by  the  tailor,  C.  Carl,  was  founded  in  1873  and  continued 
about  a  year  when  disagreement  put  an  end  to  it.  F.  A.  Sorge  at 
tempted  to  have  Liebknecht  of  Leipzig  appointed  a  contributor  but 
his  efforts  were  in  vain.  The  Arbeit erstimme  and  the  Sozialdemo- 
krat,  both  of  New  York,  were  first  issued  in  1874;  the  former  was 
succeeded  in  January  by  the  Volkszeitung  which  has  since  then  with 
able  editors  as  Adolf  Douai,  Sergius  E.  Schewitsch,  Alexander 
Jonas,  and  Hermann  Schliiter  grown  to  be,  probably,  the  most  im 
portant  German  Socialist  newspaper  in  America.  Alexander  Jonas, 
a  Berlin  Social  Democrat,  contributed  much  to  establish  the  prestige 
of  the  Volkszeitung  through  his  remarkable  business  ability  and  jour- 


MDie  Sozialdemokratie  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten,  in  Neue  Gesellschaft 
II,  p.  139  ff-  (i879). 

^Cf.  Kindergarten  und  Volksschule  als  sozialdemokratische  Anstalten, 
Leipzig,  1876. 


46  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

nalistic  talent.  He  also  wrote  occasional  poems  and  in  1884,  published 
a  pamph\et,Re  porter  und  Socialist,  Bin  Gesprdch  liber  Ziele  und 
Wege  des  Sozialismus,  a  propaganda  treatise,  which  found  wide  cir 
culation.  The  present  editor,  Hermann  Schliiter,  is  likewise  a  tal 
ented  journalist  and  writer  of  distinguished  ability.  Other  men 
who  have  been  associated  with  the  Volkszeitung  are  Grunzig,  Degen, 
Cuno,  and  Franz. 

The  Fortschritt,  a  literary  weekly,  edited  by  Anna  Metz  By  land, 
which  championed  the  rights  of  women  began  its  campaign  in  1875. 

The  Philadelphia  Tageblatt,  Offizielles  Organ  der  Vereinigten 
Deutschen  Gewerkschaften,  champions  the  rights  of  the  laborer,  and 
stands  for  many  socialistic  principles.  It  was  established  in  1877 
and  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  widely  read  newspapers  of 
its  kind.  Among  the  journalists  associated  with  it  were  J.  Franz 
Paul  Lossau,  Wyl,  and  G.  A.  Hepner.  Louis  Werner  has  been 
associated  with  it  since  January,  1879,  and  under  his  able  and  ju 
dicious  editorship,  now  ably  assisted  by  Dr.  Darkow,  it  has  at 
tained  a  high  position  of  eminence  in  its  field. 

Other  Eastern  papers  of  this  decade  were  the  Freigeist  (Bos 
ton?)  which  was  soon  discontinued  and  the  Vorwdrts  of  Newark,  a 
daily  published  from  1877  to  I&79-  In  the  central  West  appeared 
between  1876-77  the  Chicago er  Socialist  and  Volkszeitung,  the  Neue 
Zeit  at  Louisville,  the  Ohio  Volkszeitung  at  Cincinnati,  and  the 
Volksstimme  des  West  ens  at  Saint  Louis — all  dailies.  During  this 
decade  about  twenty-five  German  Socialist  papers  of  more  or  less 
importance  supported  the  party.  Among  them  were,  moreover,  the 
Arbeiter  am  Ohio  (Cincinnati),  Arbeiterfreund  (Chicago),  Cali 
fornia  Arbeiterzeitung  (San  Francisco),  Chicago,  Arbeiter zeitung 
with  its  Sunday  edition,  Die  Fackel,  and  weekly  Vorbote,  Der  Hman- 
zipator  (Milwaukee),  Der  Sozialist  (Milwaukee),  Die  Tribune 
(Buffalo),  and  Der  Volksanwalt  (Cleveland-St.  Louis).  These 
papers  were,  as  a  general  rule,  conducted  on  the  cooperative  plan. 
Those  with  the  largest  circulation  were  the  New  York  Volkszeitung, 
the  Chicago  Arbeiterzeitung,  the  Saint  Louis  Volksstimme  des  Wes- 
tens,  and  the  Philadelphia  Tageblatt.  Among  the  editors  of  this 
period  were  Joseph  Brucker,  Gustav  Lyser,  Louis  Werner,  Paul 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  47 

Robertstein,  Conrad  Conzett,  Hermann  Sigel,  George  Winter,  Otto 
Walter,  Heinrich  von  Ende,  and  C.  Savary.  The  Socialist  press  was 
still  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Germans. 

During  the  decade  1880-90  a  number  of  the  above  papers  stopped 
publication  but  others  took  their  place.  This  was  the  period  when 
the  radical  elements  threatened  to  disrupt  the  movement.  Among 
the  periodicals  were  the  Arbeit  erzeitung  of  Belleville,  Illinois,  the 
Cleveland  Volksfreund  (est.  1885)  and  the  Illinois  Volkszeitung 
published  in  1886  by  Paul  Grottkau  and  Julius  Vahlteich,  two  re 
cently  immigrated  Socialists.  Grottkau  was  a  careful  student  of 
labor  problems.  Two  years  later  he  was  editor  of  the  Milwaukee 
Arbeii  erzeitung.  Maurice  Reinhold  von  Stern,  now  a  poet  of  con 
siderable  note,  who  was  in  America  from  1880-85,  founded  the 
New  Jerseyer  Arbeit  erzeitung  of  Newark.  Stern  entertained  rather 
radical  notions  at  this  time.  In  1888  the  St.  Louis  Tageblatt  was 
first  issued;  its  editor  was  Adolph  Hepner,  a  friend  of  Bebel  and 
Liebknecht,  all  of  whom  were  involved  in  the  "Leipziger  Hochver- 
rathsprozess."  Hepner  and  Otto-Walster  who  were  both  editors  of 
St.  Louis  papers  have  since  then  returned  to  Europe.  They  were 
also  authors  of  note. 

In  January,  1885,  Joseph  Dietzgen,66  called  the  ''philosopher  of 
the  proletariat"  by  his  friend  Marx,  became  editor  of  the  newly 
established  New  Yorker  Socialist.  However  in  the  following  year 
he  went  to  Chicago  to  continue  the  Arbeit  erzeitung  whose  editorial 
staff  were  arrested  for  alleged  bomb  throwing.  His  idea  was  to 
harmonize  the  radical  and  conservative  factions,  thinking  that  prob 
ably  Anarchism  was  a  transition  stage  to  a  more  advanced  Social 
ism.  The  Chicago  Afbe'it erzeitung  had  been  established  in  1876 
when  the  Vorbote  (est.  1874)  purchased  the  interests  of  the  Volks- 


66  Dietzgen  came  to  the  United  States  for  the  first  time  in  1848,  but  after 
a  few  years  returned  to  Germany.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  was 
again  in  America  for  a  time  but  returned  again  to  Europe  where  he  was  a 
factory  superintendent  at  St.  Petersburg  for  a  time,  and  a  tanner  in  Siegburg 
on  the  Rhine  from  1869  to  1884.  In  1869  he  published  his  Das  Wesen  der 
menschlichen  Kopfarbeit,  eine  abermalige  Kritik  der  rcinen  Vernunft  von 
einem  Handarbeiter.  At  the  same  time  he  wrote  for  the  newspapers.  Karl 
Marx  and  daughter  visited  him  while  he  lived  at  Siegburg.  From  1884  to  his 
death  in  1888  he  was  active  as  a  journalist  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  His 
complete  works  in  three  volumes  were  published  at  Wiesbaden  in  1911  by  his 
son  Eugen. 


48  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

zeitung.  Early  prominent  editors  of  the  paper  were  Conrad  Conzett 
and  Paul  Grottkau;  in  1880  August  Spies  and  Michael  Schwab  suc 
ceeded.  After  the  condemnation  of  the  latter  two  men  for  the  part 
they  played  in  the  Hay  market  riot  of  1886  Christensen  became 
editor. 

The  Milwaukee  Vorwdrts  was  first  issued  in  1881  and  its  weekly 
edition,  Die  Wahreit,  dates  from  1888;  Victor  L.  Berger,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  popular  Socialists  in  the  country,  was  the  editor  for 
a  number  of  years.  At  present  the  Vorwdrts  is  ably  edited  by 
Heinrich  Bartel.  Another  paper  of  this  decade  was  the  Buffalo 
Arbeiterzeitung  dating  from  1887. 

Among  the  radical  sheets  the  most  notorious  was  John  Most's 
Freiheit,  Internationales  Organ  der  communistischen  Anarchisten 
deutscher  Sprache,  published  since  1881  in  New  York.  Its  motto 
was :  "Gegen  die  Tyrannen  sind  alle  Mittel  gesetzlich."  It  ad 
vocated  the  propaganda  of  the  deed  as  a  means  towards  establishing 
a  kind  of  visionary  anarchistic,  communistic  state.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  eighties  the  Amerikanische  Arbeiterzeitung  (New  York) 
represented  the  views  of  a  few  dissenting  Anarchists.  Its  most 
noted  contributor  was  W.  Hasselmann,  a  gifted  writer  and  popular 
speaker,  who  arrived  in  the  United  States  in  1880.  He  originally 
supported  the  principles  of  Lassalle  but  on  May  4,  1880  he  declared 
that  the  time  for  parliamentary  prattle  had  ended  and  that  the  time 
for  action  had  come.67  His  journalistic  venture  proved  a  failure 
and  he  soon  settled  down  to  private  life.  In  1888  the  Boston  Liberty 
edited  by  Benjamin  R.  Tucker,  started  to  publish  a  German  bi 
weekly  edition,  the  Liberia^,  which  was  an  exponent  of  Proudhon's 
doctrine.  As  to  its  policy  it  stated :  (CLibertas  besteht  auf  der  Selbst- 
herrlichkeit  des  Indiwduums  und  den  gerechten  Lohn  der  Arbeit; 
auf  der  Abschaffung  des  Stoats  und  des  Wuchers;  auf  der  Hin- 
stellung  alter  Herrschaft  des  Menschen  uber  den  Menschen ;  und 
der  Einstellung  aller  Ausbeutung  des  Menschen  durch  den  Men 
schen;  auf  der  Anarchie  und  der  Billigkeit."68  Before  this  time 
Nathan  Ganz  who  was  formerly  connected  with  the  London  Freiheit 


m  Bernstein,  Die  Berliner  Arbeiterbewegung,  II,  p.  44. 

68  Quoted  by  C.  H.  Boppe  in  Am.  Turner-Kalender,  1889,  p.  112. 


Socialism  and  the  German  American  Press  49 

had  expressed  his  radical  notions  in  the  monthly,  Anarchist.  Three 
other  radical  anarchist  papers  of  this  period  were  the  Alarm  of 
Chicago,  the  Parole  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  Nemesis  of  Baltimore. 
In  1885  the  revolutionary  element  had  seven  German,  two  English, 
and  two  Bohemian  periodicals.  After  the  Haymarket  tragedy  the 
radical  press  rapidly  lost  influence  and  the  saner  Socialist  press  re 
gained  its  control. 

The  freedom  of  the  press  was  thoroughly  exploited  by  many  of 
the  radical  editors  and  contributors.  In  America  they  could  pub 
lish  caustic  criticisms  of  European  authorities,  a  venture,  which  in 
Germany  under  the  anti-Socialist  laws,  was  very  hazardous.  Some 
of  the  German  American  papers  were  excluded  by  these  laws.  These 
are  according  to  Nach  Zehn  Jakren,  (II,  106)  :  Bdckerzeitung  (New 
York,  1887),  Chicagoer  Arbeiterzeitung  (1879),  Calif ornier  Arbei 
terzeitung  (San  Francisco,  1879)  ;  Die  Fackel  (Chicago,  1887),  Der 
Freidenker  (Milwaukee,  1879),  Die  Freiheit  (London-New  York, 
1879),  New  Yorker  Volkszeitung  (daily,  1884;  Sunday,  1884; 
weekly,  1879)  ;  Philadelphia  Tageblatt  (1885),  Der  Socialist  (New 
York,  1885),  Amerikanische  Turnzeitung  (Milwaukee,  1885),  Vor- 
bote  (Chicago,  1881),  Arbeiterzeitung  (Belleville,  111.,  1880  from 
Zwickau),  Der  arme  Teufel  (Detroit,  1888  from  Magdeburg),  Der 
Freiheitsfreund  (Pittsburg,  1882  from  Leipzig).  The  year  indi 
cates  when  the  exclusion  took  effect. 

A  unique  weekly  of  considerable  literary  merit  and  which  ex 
hibited  radical  tendencies  was  Robert  Reitzel's  Der  arme  Teufel, 
published  at  Detroit  from  1884  to  1900.  After  Reitzel's  death  in 
1898  it  was  continued  for  two  years  by  Martin  Drescher.  Concern 
ing  the  policy  of  his  paper  Reitzel  said : 

"Ich  machte  mir  keinerlei  Programm  und  setzte  mir  keinen  Canon, 
ich  verliess  mich  einfach  darauf,  zu  schreiben,  was  mir  und  Andern 
einfallt.  Einer  gewissen  Aufgabe  wurde  ich  mir  jedoch  bald  klar. 
Zwei  Strome  gait  es,  in  ein  Bette  zu  leiten,  die  man  gewohnlich, 
aber  irrtiimlicherweise  fur  feindliche  halt:  den  revolutionaren  Mut 
des  arbeitenden  Volkes  unsrer  Zeit  und  den  sehnsiichtigen  Drang 
aller  Menschennatur  nach  dem  Schonen.  Schwierigkeiten  bereitete 
mir  die  Sache  genug,  und  das  Ungliick,  zwischen  zwei  Stiihlen  mich 
niederzusetzen,  war  nie  ausgeschlossen.  'Was  gehn  uns  die  Dich- 
tergeschichten  an  und  Ihre  eigenen  Liebeleien,'  schrieb  mir  der 
4 


50  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Eine,  'schreiben  Sie  mit  Flammenschrift,  auf  dass  diese  gottver- 
fluchte  Gesellschaft  dem  Untergang  naher  komme.'  'Bleib  uns 
mit  Deinen  Weltverblesserungsvorschlagen  vom  Leibe,'  mahnte 
der  Andere,  'Mensch  bleibt  Mensch,  d.  h.  ein  abwechselnd  gewalt- 
tatiges  und  feiges  Tier,  du  aber  halte  dich  an  das,  was  die  Ausnahme 
geschaffen,  Shakespeare,  Gothe,  und  niitze  dein  Talent,  Verstandige 
zur  schonen  Literatur  zu  animiren.'  "69 

Reitzel  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the  paper  since  he  wrote  most  of 
the  original  articles  and  dominated  its  policy.  It  had  no  party  af 
filiations.  As  a  journalist  Reitzel  exhibits  originality  of  style  and 
criticizes  society  by  standards  rather  peculiar  to  himself.  To  liter 
ature  he  applies  like  standards.  In-  selecting  reprints  for  his  journal 
he  showed  a  preference  for  such  writers  as  Friedrich  Vischer, 
Gutzkow,  Borne,  Heine,  Liliencron,  Hermann  Lingg,  Karl  Henckel, 
C.  E.  Franzos,  J.  H.  Mackay,  Gottfried  Keller,  Richard  Dehmel, 
Otto  Ernst,  and  others.  These  authors  possess  qualities  which 
struck  a  sympathetic  chord  in  Reitzel's  soul.70 

In  1890  twenty-six  German  American  papers  of  a  socialistic 
leaning,  were  published  according  to  Ayer's  American  Newspaper 
Annual  of  that  year.  They  were  the  Arbeiterseitung,  the  Fackel,  and 
Vorbote  of  Chicago,  the  Indiana  Tribune  of  Indianapolis,  the  Mich 
igan  Arbeiterseitung  and  Tageblatt  of  Detroit,  the  Parole  and 
Tageblatt  of  St.  Louis,  the  Freiheit,  Socialist,  Tailor,  and  Volkszei- 
tung  of  New  York,  the  Cincinnati  Zeitung,  Cleveland  Volksfreund, 
the  Volksblatt,  Volkszeitung,  Vorwarts,  and  Wahrheit  off  Mil 
waukee,  and  the  Tageblatt  of  San  Francisco,  Belleville,  Buffalo,  and 
Pittsburgh,  respectively.  The  oldest  of  these,  the  Chicago  Vorbote 
was  established  in  1874,  while  nineteen  were  founded  during  the 
eighties.  Among  the  older  are  the  Arbeiterseitung  of  Chicago,  the 
Tageblatt  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Volkszeitung  of  New  York ;  the 
last  named  led  with  a  circulation  of  21,395  f°r  its  daily  and  weekly 
editions. 


89  Der  Arme  Teufel,  November  25,  1893,  Zum  zehnten  Waffengang. 

70Cf.  A.  E.  Zucker,  Robert  Reitzel  as  Poet,  German  American  Annals, 
N.  S.  XIII,  p.  58  ff.  (1915),  and  the  introduction  to  Reitzel's  Schriften  by 
Max  B  agin  ski. 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  INDEPENDENT  CONGREGATIONS  AND  SOCIALISM. 

Rationalism  had  steadily  gained  ground  in  Germany  from  1750 
to  1835,  tne  year  when  two  notable  books  appeared,  Bauer's  Die 
christliche  Gnosis  oder  die  christliche  Religions  philosophic  in  ihrer 
geschichtlichen  Entwickelung  and  Strauss'  Leben  Jesu  which  revo 
lutionized  Biblical  criticism.  To  the  industrial  and  political  tur 
moil  of  the  thirties  and  forties  was  now  added  this  blow  to  the 
supernatural  concomitant  with  the  philosophy  of  Hegel,  Feuerbach, 
and  others.  The  effects  were  likewise,  to  be  felt  in  America.  Since 
1815  American  students  had  studied  at  German  universities,  and 
German  rationalists  had  emigrated  to  America.  Among  the  most 
prominent  of  the  early  arrivals  was  Carl  Pollen  who  came  in  1824, 
and  shortly  afterwards  became  a  Unitarian  minister  at  Boston. 

Most  of  the  'Dreissiger'  were  men  of  liberal  views  in  religious 
matters,  and  practically  all  of  the  newspapers  established  by  them 
were  rationalistic.  Among  these  were  J.  G.  Ritter's  Amerikanischer 
Correspondent  (i825),71  J.  G.  Wesselhoeft's  Alte  und  Neue  Welt 
(1834),  Wollenweber's  Der  Freisinnige  (1838),  Thomas'  Freie 
Presse  (1848),  Ludvigh's  Wahrheitsverbreiter  (1840)  and  Fackel 
(1849),  Forsch's  Vernunftglailbige  (1838),  Muni's  Lichtfreund 
(1840),  and  Walker's  Hochwdchter  (1845).  Moreover,  in  1847 
Thomas  published  a  German  translation  of  the  theological  works  of 
Thomas  Paine,  which  passed  through  several  editions. 

In  Germany  there  arose  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  the 
so-called  Independent  Congregations  (Freie  Gemeinden)  as  a  revolt 
of  rationalistic  thought  against  revealed  religion.  An  early  organ 
ization  were  the  "Protestantische  Freunde"  or  "Lichtfreunde" 
(1841)  under  the  leadership  of  Uhlich  and  Wislecenus.  The  Cath 
olics  under  Johannes  Ronge  also  established  independent  congrega 
tions,  the  first  being  at  Breslau.  Among  the  prominent  men  con 
nected  with  the  movement  at  this  time  were  Rupp,  Baltzer,  Nees  von 


71  The  years  are  the  date  of  founding  in  each  case. 

[51] 


52  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Esenbeck,  Hofferichter,  Vogtherr,  Robert  Blum,  Rossmassler,  Dul 
ler,  Sachse,  Hrabowsky,  Scholl,  Albrecht  Rau,  Czerski,  Ludwig 
Wiirkert,  and  August  Specht.  In  1845  tne  Catholic  congregations 
formed  a  union  and  two  years  later  the  Protestants  followed.  Other 
organizations  were  formed  since  then.  In  1851  the  independent 
movement  numbered  312  congregation^  with  150,000  members, 
while  in  1906  the  number  had  decreased  to  100  congregations  with 
40,000  members.72  This  decline  is  ascribed  to  persecution  by  the 
authorities  and  a  side-tracking  of  interest  towards  a  unified  Ger 
many  and  towards  Socialism.  The  position  taken  by  most  Socialists 
towards  the  established  church  is  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the 
independent  congregations. 

As  early  as  1836  an  independent  congregation  was  established  at 
Philadelphia  by  Heinrich  Ginal;  this  existed  till  1855.  Ginal  has 
been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  communistic  experiment  at 
Teutonia.73  In  1846  he  established  another  congregation  at  Mil 
waukee.  August  Glaser,  who  preached  to  the  congregation  at  Phil 
adelphia  in  1848,  said  that  rationalism  had  long  been  the  essential 
basis  for  the  theory  of  the  equal  rights  of  man  and  that  Ginal  was 
the  first  to  pass  from  the  word  theory  of  it  to  active  Communism  in 
the  United  States.74  Ginal's  rationalism  was  based  on  the  theories 
of  Paulus  Neander  and  Schwarz. 

In  the  spring  of  1846  Ronge  received  a  written  promise  of  sup 
port  from  some  dissenting  Catholics  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania.75 
Towards  the  end  of  the  same  year  Dr.  Giustiani,  a  former  Fran 
ciscan  monk,  was  instrumental  in  founding  an  independent  congre 
gation  of  about  200  people  of  German  descent  at  New  York.  Later 
he  was  also  active  in  Philadelphia,  and  by  1851  there  were  two  in 
dependent  German  Catholic  congregations  in  that  city. 

In  September  1835  Heinrich  Scheib  became  the  pastor  of  Zions 
church  at  Baltimore  which  belonged  to  no  synod,  and  three  years 


72  Max  Hempel,   Was  sind  die  Freien  Gemeinden?     3.  rev.  Aufl.,  Mil 
waukee,  1906. 

73  Chapter  I,  p.  12  f . 

74  Volks-Trtbun,  June  13,  1846. 

75  Mitteilungen  des  Deutschen  Pionier-Vereins  von  Philadelphia,  n.  Heft 
(1909),  p.  7;  see  also  lola  K.  Eastburn,  Whittier's  Relation  to  German  Life 
and  Thought,  Americana  Germanica,  XX  (1915)*  P-  IO1   f- 


The  Independent  Congregations  and  Socialism  53 

later  he  and  P.  M.  Wolsieffer  were  publishing  the  Allgem-eine 
Schukeitung.  Before  1848  Forsch  and  Ludvigh  were  active  in 
organizing  the  liberal  minded  Germans  of  New  York. 

The  failure  of  the  Revolution  of  1848  proved  disastrous  to  the 
Freie  Gemeinden  of  Germany  as  to  all  other  bodies  of  liberal 
convictions.  As  a  result,  many  of  the  oppressed  came  to  America 
where  they  sought  to  express  in  word  and  deed  their  confused 
complexes  of  radical  ideas.  The  ensuing  effect  upon  politics  and 
the  press  has  already  been  discussed  in  chapters  one  and  two. 

The  "Freimannervereine"  of  the  fifties  which  were  even  more 
radical  than  the  independent  congregations  arose  as  a  result  of  this 
immigration.  The  movement  began  in  full  force  at  Cincinnati  in 
1850  where  Friedrich  Hassaurek,  the  author  of  the  novel,  Hierarchic 
und  Aristokratie ,  and  the  editor  of  the  Hochw'dchter,  was  the  chief 
leader.  Here  a  large  hall  was  built  and  from  it  the  movement 
radiated  to  the  neighboring  states  for  about  five  years  when  lack 
of  agreement  and  dissensions  practically  put  an  end  to  it. 

Other  societies  were  organized  in  this  same  decade  by  the  free- 
thinking  German  element,  and  in  many  instances,  they  started  to 
publish  a  periodical.  Jakob  Mueller  says  of  them :  "Zwischen 
1852  bis  1854  enstanden  fast  in  jeder  grosseren  and  mittleren  Stadt 
in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten  radikale  und  freisinnige  Tageszeitungen, 
Wochen — und  Monatsschriften,  meist  von  hochgebildeten  Menschen, 
und  talentvollen  Kopfen  redigirt,  und  bestimmt,  der  Aufklarung, 
dem  politischen  wie  sozialen  Fortschritt  zu  dienen."76  Most  of  these 
had  but  a  limited  circulation  and  were  short-lived.  With  these  un 
dertakings  were  connected  such  men  as:  Hollocher,  Fenner  von 
Fenneberg,  Kompe,  Heinrich  Rochotte,  August  Thieme,  Christian 
Esselen,  John  Klippart,  Karl  Heinzen,  and  others.  The  movement 
was  hampered  by  lack  of  agreement  and  united  effort  among  the 
leaders.  Moreover,  their  ideas  which  were  rooted  in  the  social 
conditions  of  Europe  were  somewhat  out  of  place  in  America  with 
its  freedom  of  speech,  of  the  press,  and  of  assembly.  There  was  no 


"Jakob  Mueller,  Aus  den  Brinnerungen  eines  Achtundvierzigers,  Cleve 
land,  1896,  p.  27. 


54  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

strong  external  force,  no  decided  opposition,  to  crystallize  the  move 
ment.77 

From  1850  to  about  1860  the  chief  centers  of  the  independent  con 
gregations  were  New  York,  Boston,  Milwaukee,  St.  Louis,  and  Phil 
adelphia.  In  1850  Eduard  Schroeter  founded  a  congregation  at 
New  York,  and  during  the  next  year  he  extended  his  activities  to 
Boston  where  he  also  met  Theodore  Parker.  G.  Grahl,  Heinrich 
Loose,  and  Carl  Liideking  also  supported  the  organization  in  New 
York  and  Domschke  went  to  Boston.  Another  congregation  was 
initiated  at  Buffalo  by  J.  de  Marie  in  1850,  and  a  year  later  one  was 
instituted  at  Galveston,  Texas.  Two  other  leaders  at  New  York 
in  1853  were  Rudolph  Dulon  and  Karl  Schramm.  Dulon  declared 
that  man  alone  is  the  source  of  all  truth  and  that  scientific  investi 
gation  must  replace  blind  faith  in  the  traditional.  It  must  be  noted, 
however,  that  these  free  thinking  Humanists  did  not  generally  asso 
ciate  with  the  unschooled  proletarian  disciples  of  Weitling.  Franz 
Schmitt,  a  former  member  of  the  Frankfort  Parliament,  was  instru 
mental  in  organizing  the  first  independent  congregation  of  its  type 
in  America  at  St.  Louis  November  6,  i85o.78  Other  leading  ex 
ponents  in  this  city  were  Carl  Liideking,  G.  R.  Doehn,  W.  Wurpel, 
and  J.  B.  Engelmann.  The  inception  of  the  Philadelphia  congrega 
tion  in  1852  was  due  to  Eduard  Graf  of  Wiesbaden.  Two  early 
presidents  of  this  congregation  were  Nicklaus  Schmitt  and  Dr. 
Georg  Seidensticker.  Two  years  later  under  the  speakership  of 
Fr.  Schunemann-Pott  it  began  a  flourishing  career,  and  also  be 
came  closely  associated  with  the  independent  Sunday  school  of  the 
Arbeiterbund.  Especially  through  the  efforts  of  Ed.  Schroeter  al 
most  a  dozen  congregations  were  organized  in  Wisconsin  after 
i852.79  In  1853  Hr.  Loose  succeeded  Schroeter  as  editor  of  the 
Milwaukee  Humanist  (est.  1851).  Loose  and  Willich  helped  or 
ganize  the  "Sozialer  Turnverein"  of  Milwaukee.  Subsequently 
Loose  became  a  champion  of  social  democratic  principles  and  found- 


77  Cf.  Metzners  Jahrbilcher  I,  pp.  241-249,  Die  freien  Deutschen  in  Wis 
consin,  Kentucky,  and  Ohio  (from  Turnzeitung  of  April  15,  1854)  ;   also  the 
Freidenker  Almanack,  Milwaukee,  1878. 

78  Hempel,  Was  sind  die  Freien  Gemeinden?  p.  7- 
w  Mitteil  d.  Pionier-Vereins  v.  Phila.  XI,  p.  12.  ' 


The  Independent  Congregations  and  Socialism  55 

ed  the  Arbeiter.    Later  leaders  at  Milwaukee  were  Graf,  Biron,  Fr.    JV* 
Schiitz,  ].  Brucker,  and  Hr.  von  Ende. 

The  "Kommunistenklub"  initiated  at  New  York  in  1857  de- 
clared  in  the  first  paragraph  of  its  constitution :  "Die  Mitglieder  des 
Kommunistenklubs  verwerfen  jeden  religiosen  Glauben;  in  welcher 
Art  und  Weise  er  sich  auch  gestalten  moge,  sowie  jede  nicht  auf 
unmittelbare  Sinneswahrnehmung  beruhende  Anschauung."*  This 
indicates  the  similarity  of  principles  supported  by  the  Communists 
and  Freethinkers.  This  club  joined  with  the  Workingmen's  League 
of  New  York  in  1868  and  formed  a  Socialist  Party,  the  first  po 
litical  labor  party  with  modern  socialistic  views  in  America.  The 
Communist,  E.  I.  Koch,81  became  a  speaker  of  an  independent  con 
gregation  at  New  York  in  1865,  the  year,  when  E.  ].  Lowenthal 
and  A.  Douai  led  in  establishing  another  congregation  at  Hoboken. 
In  the  following  year  these  two  men  and  Schunemann-Pott  initiated 
the  "Bund  der  Freidenker"  at  New  York.  In  1869  K.  T.  Bayr- 
hoffer,  formerly  a  professor  at  Marburg,  organized  some  farmers  of 
Putnam  and  Lasalle  Counties,  Illinois,  into  a  "freisinniger  Verein." 
BayrhofTer,  a  compatriot  of  Dr.  Kellner,  was  secretary  of  the  con 
gress  of  laborers  at  Frankfort  on  the  Main  in  June,  1848,  when 
Julius  Frobel  served  as  chairman  and  Hermann  Kriege  was  also 
present.82  These  facts  indicate  how  closely  the  Communists,  So 
cialists,  and  Freethinkers  were  associated. 

After  the  Civil  War  F.  A.  Sorge  was  active  in  a  secret  order, 
the  "Secularisten,"  at  New  York,  which  was  atheistic  in  nature  and 
sought  to  push  social  reforms.  They  believed  that  all  theological 
doctrines  in  the  world  are  based  on  ignorance  and  that  they  formed 
an  insuperable  barrier  against  the  mental,  moral,  and  social  progress 
of  mankind.83  The  society  was  the  meeting  ground  for  liberal 
minds  of  various  tendencies.  Later  like  many  of  the  free  thinkers 
Sorge  became  interested  primarily  in  Socialism,  and  became  the 
trusted  representative  of  Marx'  interests  in  America.84 


80  Quoted  by  Waltershausen,  p.  32. 

81  Chapter  I,  p.  21. 

^Cf.  Mitteil  d.  Deut.  Pionier-Verems  v.  Phila.  XI,  21;    German  Ameri 
can  Annals,  V,  p.  19-25  (W.  A.  Fritsch). 

83  Pionier,  Volkszeitung  Kalender,  New  York,   1908   (Schlueter). 

.,  Die  Neue  Zeit,  Stuttgart,  XXV,  i:    145  ff.   (1906);    ibid.,  XVII. 


56  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

The  independent  congregations  of  Sauk  City  (Wis.),  St.  Louis, 
Dane  County  (Wis.),  and  Philadelphia,  in  the  meanwhile,  formed 
the  "Bund  der  Deutschen  Freien  Gemeinden  von  Nordamerika"  in 
1859  at  Philadelphia.  In  1870  the  congregation  at  San  Francisco 
was  established  and  elected  Schiinemann-Pott  speaker.  At  this  time 
Fr.  Leis  and  Hr.  von  Ende  were  the  chief  leaders  at  New  York.  The 
latter  arranged  for  the  lecture  tour  of  Ludwig  Biichner  whose  book, 
Kraft  und  Stoff,  a  popular  scientific  treatise  that  passed  through 
twenty  or  more  editions,  was  also  extensively  read  by  rationalistic 
German  Americans.  Hedwig  Henrich-Wilhelmi,  a  rationalist, 
champion  of  woman's  rights,  and  Socialist,  also  lectured  in  the 
United  States  during  the  latter  eighties. 

During  the  centennial  year  of  1876  a  great  conclave  of  radicals, 
freethinkers,  Turners,  Socialists,  and  others  met  at  Philadelphia. 
Karl  Heinzen  was  the  leading  spirit  in  effecting  a  loose  sort  of  or 
ganization  which  did  not  exist  long.  In  their  platform  they  pro 
mulgated  various  radical  principles  with  reference  to  political,  social, 
economic,  and  religious  questions.85  Some  of  their  economic  prin 
ciples  have  since  been  incorporated  into  progressive  legislation.  At 
the  second  convention  held  at  Philadelphia  in  1879  it  was  decided 
to  cooperate  with  the  Socialists  at  elections  after  previous  agreement 
on  principles.  The  union  gradually  disintegrated. 

In  1897  chiefly  through  the  efforts  of  Max  Hempel  and  C.  Her 
mann  Boppe  a  new  union  of  Freie  Gemeinden  and  Freidenkerver- 
eine  was  formed  at  the  Turner  convention  in  St.  Louis,  which  city 
and  Milwaukee  have  since  been  the  centers  of  the  movement.  Other 
men,  besides  those  already  mentioned,  prominent  in  the  work  are 
Heinrich  Huhn,  Max.  Grossman,  Hermann  Pfafflin,  Robert  Reitzel, 
C.  L.  Henning,  Paul  Carus,  Otto  Soubron,  Ph.  Rappaport,  and 
Emil  Liess.  The  independent  congregations,  as  such,  have  not  been 
very  prosperous ;  the  economic  questions  of  modern  society  created 
an  interest  in  the  materialistic  side  of  life  which  tended  to  draw 
the  attention  away  from  the  more  idealistic  aspirations. 

Victor  L.  Berger  said  in  an  address  on  January  28,  1893,  deliv 
ered  to  an  audience  of  Turners  and  Freidenker  in  speaking  of  the  du- 


"Mitteil.  d.  Deut.  Pionier-V ereins  v.  Phila.  XXIII,  pp.  1-20;    also  XI, 
p.  23. 


The  Independent  Congregations  and  Socialism  57 

ties  of  the  latter  towards  the  working  class  :  "Jede  Religion  war  stets 
allem  wirklichen  Fortschritt  abgeneigt,  jede  Religion  war  stets  eine 
Stiitze  des  herrschenden  Systems, — und  jede  Religion  ist  jetzt,  bei 
uns  in  Amerika  wenigstens,  eine  Hauptstiitze  des  herrschenden 
Biirgertums.  Die  herrschenden  Machte  fiihlen  es  instinktiv,  dass 
alle  Religionen  wie  Opium  wirken.  *  *  *  so  schlaft  das  Volk  unter 
keinem  Deckmantel  fester  und  sicherer,  *  *  *  als  eben  unter  dem 
Deckmantel  der  Religion."86  Many  Socialists  hold  this  point  of  view. 
The  Turners  and  Freie  Gemeinden  have  long  advocated  many  prin 
ciples  in  common ;  for  example,  the  Freie  Gemeinde  at  Louisville  in 
1852  considered  its  duty  to  be  "durch  alle  ihm  zu  Gebote  stehenden 
Mittel  die  sozialen,  politischen  und  religiosen  Reformen  im  Sinne 
des  radikalen  Fortschritts  zum  richtigen  Verstandnisse  seiner  Mit- 
glieder  zu  bringen."87  The  part  the  Turners  played  in  the  history 
of  Socialism  in  America  will  be  discussed  in  the  next  chapter. 


86  Die  Wahrheit,  Milwaukee,  February  4,  1893. 

87  Quoted  in  Mitteil.  d.  Deut.  Pionier-Vereins  v.  Phila.,  XI,  p  26. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE:  TURNERS  AND  SOCIALISM. 

The  first  large  organization  to  further  the  cause  of  liberalism 
including  many  of  the  principles  of  modern  Socialism  were  the 
Turners  who,  however,  were  primarily  interested  in  gymnastics  and 
athletics.  The  Turners  had  liberal  ideas  concerning  all  the  larger 
institutions  of  society  especially  in  regard  to  church  and  state. 

The  first  Turnverein  in  America  was  organized  at  Cincinnati 
on  October  22,  1848,  and  about  a  month  later  the  New  York  so 
ciety  was  instituted.  In  the  same  year  the  Newark  Turners  or 
ganized,  and  a  year  later  came  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore. 
The  St.  Louis  Turnverein  originated  in  1850,  and  in  the  following 
year  arose  the  Peoria  and  Indianapolis  societies.  Practically  all  the 
Turnervereine  up  to  the  middle  of  the  fifties  arose  as  a  result  of  the 
revolution  in  Germany,  especially  that  of  Baden  in  i849.88 

June  6,  1850  thirty-six  dissenting  members  of  the  New  York 
society  who  were  laborers  created  the  Socialistischer  Turnverein  of 
New  York  which  drew  up  a  provisional  constitution  designed  for 
the  proposed  union  of  all  the  societies.  Paragraph  two  of  this  docu 
ment  reads:  "Der  Zweck  des  Bundes  ist  neben  den  korperlichen 
Turniibungen  dem  geistigen  und  materiellen  Drucke  entgegenar- 
beitend,  wahre  Freiheit,  Wohlstand  und  Bildung  fur  alle  Klassen 
nach  Kraften  zu  fordern."  August  21,  1850  delegates  of  the  two 
New  York  Turnvereine  and  of  the  Brooklyn  Turnverein  met  in  the 
Shakespeare  Hotel  to  deliberate  on  the  above  article.  Considerable 
discussion  resulted,  also  as  to  the  name  of  the  proposed  union  of 
societies. 

This  agitation  led  to  the  founding  at  Philadelphia  on  October 
5,  1850  of  the  Associated  Gymnastic  Union  of  North  America,  which 
name,  however,  was  changed  in  the  following  year  to  Socialistic 


88  For  the  history  of  the  American  Turner  movement  see  Heinrich  Metz- 
ner,  Jahrbucher  der  Deutsch-Amcrikanischen  Turner  ei.  Dem  gesammten 
Turnwesen  mit  besonderer  Beriicksichtigung  der  Geschichte  des  Nordameri- 
kanischen  Turner-Bundes  gewidmet.  3  Bde.  New  York.  1892-94:  Amcri- 
kanischer  Turner-Kalender.  Milwaukee,  1880  ff. ;  also  the  files  of  Der 
Deutsche  Pionier  and  of  the  various  Turner  periodicals. 

[58] 


The  Turners  and  Socialism  59 

Gymnastic  Union.89  They  adopted  a  platform  containing  the  fol 
lowing  provision :  "Die  vereinigten  Abgeordneten  des  ersten  Tur- 
nertagssatzung  in  Nordamerika  erkennen  als  obersten  und  leitenden 
Grundsatz  des  Turnerbundes  an ;  Die  Beforderungen  des  Sozia- 
lismus  und  der  Bestrebungen  der  sozialdemokratischen  Partei.  Sie 
sind  daher  der  Ansicht,  dass  es  bei  der  korperlichen  Ausbildung 
des  Menschen  mit  im  Hauptzweck  der  vereinigten  Turngemeinden 
liege,  sich  am  jetzigen  Kampf  zur  Erstrebung  der  vollkommensten 
Unabhangigkeit  des  Einzelnen,  (wie  sie  die  sozialdemokratische 
Partei  zu  erreichen  sucht),  mit  ganzer  Kraft  zu  betheiligen  und 
unterwerfen  zu  dem  Zwecke  f olgende  Satzungen : — "90 

Gradually  the  strict  intention  of  the  Turners  definitely  to  propa 
gate  socialism  was  somewhat  tempered.  Changes  in  the  names  of 
the  societies  resulted.  The  word  "social,"  or  "social-democratic,"  or 
"socialistic"  was  dropped  in  many  cases.  Take  for  example  the  so 
ciety  at  Philadelphia.  In  1852  the  Verfassung  der  Social-Turnge- 
meinde  reads  in  paragraph  one :  "Der  Zweck  der  Gemeinde  ist  das 
Turnwesen  und  den  Socialismus  durch  Wort  und  That  aufs  Kraf- 
tigste  zu  fordern."  By  1860  the  constitution  gives  the  name  of  the 
society  as  "Social  Demokratische  Turngemeinde"  and  its  purpose 
(paragraph  2)  :  "Das  Turnwesen  und  die  Grundsatze  des  Socialis 
mus  durch  Wort  und  That  aufs  Kraftigste  zu  fordern."  The  con 
stitution  and  by-laws  of  the  Philadelphia  Turngemeinde  revised  and 
adopted  in  January,  1866  state  that  the  purpose  of  the  society  is : 
"durch  all  ihm  zu  Gebote  stehenden  Mittel  die  radikale  Reform- 
bestrebung  auf  socialem,  politischem  und  religiosem  Gebiete  zum 
richtigen  Verstandnisse  seiner  Mitglieder  zu  bringen."  In  all  the 
societies  there  was  more  or  less  discussion  as  to  how  far  radically 
socialistic  movements  and  doctrines  ought  to  be  supported  which 
condition  frequently  resulted  in  dissension  among  the  members. 


88  The  word  "socialistic"  had  a  somewhat  different  connotation  in  1850 
than  at  present;  it  was  then  generally  used  to  characterize  the  extreme  left 
of  the  forty-eighters,  the  most  radical  of  the  revolutionists,  who  hoped  to 
found  a  republic  in  Germany.  In  the  minds  of  many  Turners  "socialistic" 
pertained  to  being  politically  free. — Schliiter,  Die  Anfdnge  der  deutschen 
Arbeiterbewegung  in  Amerika,  p.  202. 

90  For  the  names  of  the  early  leaders  of  the  Turners  see :  Namenliste 
der  Pioniere  des  Nord-Amerikanischen  Turnerbundes  der  Jahre  1848-1862. 
Im  Auftrag  des  Bundesvororts  zusammengestcllt  z'on  Hugo  Gollmer,  corresp. 
Schriftwart.  St.  Louis,  1885. 


60  Socialism  in   German  American  Literature 

The  most  recently  immigrated  were,  as  a  rule,  most  severe  in  their 
denunciation  of  existing  social  conditions. 

During  the  early  period  socialistic  or  social-democratic  Turn- 
vereine  were  organized  in  New  York,  Utica,  Brooklyn,  Rochester, 
Baltimore,  Indianapolis,  Newark,  Philadelphia,  Albany,  Columbus, 
O.,  Elizabethtown,  Madison,  Ind.,  New  Haven,  Pittsburgh,  Staten 
Island,  Washington,  Cleveland,  Yorkville,  Germantown,  Alleghany, 
Rahway,  Providence,  Trenton,  Memphis,  Orange,  Joliet,  Chicago, 
Milwaukee,  Poughkeepsie,  and  elsewhere.  At  first  most  of  the 
Turners  were  laborers  who  had  received  their  ideas  of  the  corrupt 
condition  of  society  and  government  in  Europe.  It  often  happened 
that  the  same  men  were  active  in  both  Socialist  and  Turner  circles, 
as  for  instance,  Franz  Arnold  and  Joseph  Weydemeyer  who  wrote 
articles  for  the  Turnzeitung.91 

The  first  Turner  paper  in  the  United  States  was  published  by 
the  Cincinnati  Turngemeinde  from  January  to  October  of  the  year 
1851.  It  appeared  as  a  monthly  and  Heinrich  Essmann,  Wilhelm 
Rothacker,  and  Gustav  Tafel  were  its  editors.  November  15,  1851 
the  first  number  of  the  Turnzeitung  made  its  appearance  in  New 
York  with  Sigismund  Kaufmann  as  editor.  It  was  first  a  monthly 
and  later  a  weekly.  By  1853  it  was  published  by  Wilhelm  Rapp  and 
Gottfried  Becker  at  Philadelphia.  Later  it  was  published  at  Cin 
cinnati  and  in  1861  it  had  been  transferred  to  Baltimore  where  its 
office  was  stormed  by  pro-slavery  men.  These  early  numbers  con 
tain  many  illuminating  articles  with  reference  to  the  early  history  of 
the  Turners  in  America. 

In  1853  the  executive  offices  of  the  Turner  Union  were  trans 
ferred  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  Gradually  the  Turners 
became  more  diversified  in  their  interests.  Wilhelm  Rapp,  the 
editor  of  the  Turnzeitung,  advocated  "unser  Bund  soil  ein  Sammel- 
platz  sein  fiir  alle  Elemente  des  entschiedenen  Fortschritts,  fur  alle 
Feinde  der  Geldaristocratie,  des  politischen  Stillstandes  und  des 
Pfaffenthums"92  The  organization  was  not  to  exist  for  Socialists 
alone;  it  was  no  longer  primarily  to  effect  an  economic  reform  of 


91  Cf.  the  article  Sozialismus  und  Turnerei  presumably  from  the  pen  of 
Franz  Arnold  in  Metzners  Jahrbiicher  I,  p.  145  ff. 

92  Metzners  Jahrbucher  I,  p.  202  f . 


The  Turners  and  Socialism  61 

society.93  In  time  some  of  the  Turners  who  were  laborers  became 
small  business  men  which  change  tended  to  affect  their  attitude 
towards  Communism.  However  at  the  fourth  general  "Turnfest"  in 
1854  Rapp  asserted  that  "with  few  exceptions  the  members  of  the 
Turner  Union  belonged  to  the  working  class." 

In  1855  the  settlement  company  of  the  "Sozialistischer  Turner- 
bund  von  Nordamerika"  was  organized  and  a  committee  was  ap 
pointed  to  select  a  location  for  a  colony.  In  the  next  spring  W. 
Seeger  and  W.  Pfander  of  Cincinnati  and  Chas.  Preusser  of  Cleve 
land,  who  constituted  the  committee  appointed,  after  travelling 
through  several  states  of  the  West  finally  decided  upon  New  Ulm, 
Minnesota,  as  a  suitable  location  for  the  project.  They  made  an 
agreement  with  the  settlers  who  were  already  there  and  in  the 
spring  of  1857  the  Turners'  colony  became  a  fact.  It  prospered  sub 
sequently,  only  during  the  Civil  War  (August  18,  1862)  when  a 
large  number  of  men  were  at  the  front  the  Indians  massacred  a 
large  number.94 

The  Turners  were  strongly  opposed  to  slavery  and  when  the 
Civil  War  broke  out  they  volunteered  in  large  numbers.  This 
colossal  conflict  overshadowed  all  other  questions.  Some  of  the 
more  prominent  Turners  of  communistic  convictions  who  took  part 
in  the  war  were  Joseph  Weydemeyer,  August  Willich,  Fritz  Jacobi, 
Robert  Rosa,  Alois  Tillbach  and  Dr.  Beust.  Willich  was  a  member 
of  the  London  communist  league  in  1848  together  with  Marx  and 
Engels.  He  enlisted  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  having  ad 
vanced  rapidly  to  the  ranks  of  lieutenant  and  colonel,  he  was  com 
missioned  brigadier-general  in  1862.  Rosa,  an  ex-officer  of  the 
Prussian  army  and  a  member  of  the  New  York  Communist  Club, 
served  in  the  Forty-fifth  New  York  Regiment  and  achieved  the 
rank  of  major.  Jacobi  enlisted  as  a  private  and  advanced  to  the 
rank  of  lieutenant,  and  fell  at  Fredericksburg. 


83  Schliiter  in  his  Die  Anfdnge  der  deutschen  Arbeiterbewegung  (p.  214) 
comes  to  the  conclusion :  "Der  Sozialismus  des  amerikanischen  Turnerbundes 
war  mehr  ein  Name,  als  eine  Vertretung  wirklich  sozialistischer  Prinzipien. 
Eine  proletarische  Organisation  ist  diese  Vereinigung  nie  gewesen,  und  was 
in  ihr  als  Sozialismus  zum  Ausdruck  kam,  war  ein  Gemisch  von  biirgerlichem 
Radikalismus  und  unklarem  sozialistischem  Streben,  das  mehr  im  Gefiihl,  als 
in  Einsicht  und  Erkenntnis  seinen  Ursprung  hatte." 

94  For  accounts  of  New  Ulm  see  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  III,  IV,  and  VIII. 


62  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

After  the  war  the  Turners  became  more  interested  in  American 
politics  and  their  socialistic  propaganda  receded  into  the  back 
ground.  Even  the  name  of  the  organization  was  changed.  Al 
though  in  1876  there  were  a  "sozialistischer  Turnverein,"  a  "sozia- 
listische  Turnschule,"  and  a  "sozialistischer  Turnklub"  in  New  York, 
who  however  had  little  influence  on  the  Turnerbund,  which  no 
longer  strongly  advocated  Socialism.  They  did  not  favor  the  social 
ist  state  of  the  future,  but  they  did  advocate  better  pay  and  better 
living  conditions  for  the  laborer.  About  half  of  the  members  were 
now  small  business  men,  officials,  teachers,  lawyers,  and  editors, 
while  the  other  half  belonged  to  the  better  paid  wage  earning 
class.95  Since  1882  some  of  the  Turner  societies  have  advocated 
the  principles  of  Socialism  again.  By  1885  the  Turnerbund  was 
urging  the  local  societies  to  debate  the  question,  of  the  collective 
ownership  of  the  means  of  production.96 

The  position  taken  by  the  various  Turner  societies  of  Chicago 
towards  the  labor  troubles  of  1886  was  divided;  a  part  sympathized 
with  the  radicals  and  some  of  the  Illinois  societies  were  finally  ex 
cluded  from  the  Turnerbund.  Some  of  the  Milwaukee  Turners  also 
sympathized  with  the  accused.  In  New  York  there  was  a  movement 
on  foot  to  exclude  all  the  advocates  of  Communism  and  Anarchism, 
but  the  influence  of  the  wage-earning  element  was  too  powerful 
in  the  Turnerbund,  so  the  central  board  and  the  organ  of  the  Bund 
opposed  the  step. 

The  Turnvereine  are  no  longer  of  great  importance  in  spread 
ing  Socialism.  They  have  ceased  to  be  a  distinctly  German  organi 
zation,  and  as  the  English  language  encroached  upon  the  German 
the  subject  of  Socialism  lost  its  original  medium  of  dissemination. 
Fewer  German  books  relating  to  the  subjects  are  read.  Many  of 
the  books  still  found  in  the  Turner  libraries  were  quite  popular  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  but  the  younger  generation  takes  little 
interest  in  them.  However,  the  Turners  have  not  stopped  agitating 
the  question  of  Socialism  at  their  conventions  and  other  meetings. 
A  man  who  in  recent  years  was  a  prominent  Turner  and  Socialist 
propagandist  was  Philipp  Rappaport  of  Indianapolis.  A  character- 


95  Waltershausen,  Der  moderne  Sozialismus,  p.  34. 
M  Amerikanischer-  Turner-Kalender  for  1885,  p.  112. 


The  Turners  and  Socialism  63 

istic  list  of  his  lectures  taken  from  an  announcement  issued  by  the 
authority  of  the  Turnbezirk  Philadelphia  des  Nordamerikanischen 
Turnerbundes,  June  i,  1903,  includes  the  following  subjects:  Die 
materialistische  Weltanschauung,  Hunger  und  Liebe,  Der  Sozialis- 
mus  vom  historischen  und  ethischen  Standpunkte,  Die  sittliche  Wir- 
kung  der  Konkurrenz,  Des  Menschen  Kampf  urns  Dasein  in  Natur 
und  Gesellschaft,  and  Die  Familie  in  Vergangenheit,  Gegenwart, 
und  Zukunft.  Emil  Ljess  of  San  Francisco  delivers  lectures  on 
similar  topics.  Many  of  the  principles  advocated  by  the  North 
American  Gymnastic  Union  are  now  generally  considered  socialistic. 
They  oppose,  for  example,  the  extreme  concentration  of  wealth,  and 
political  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  the  exploitation  of  labor  by 
capital,  and  they  defend  the  rights  of  the  individual.97 


"G.  A.  Hoehn,  Der  Nordamerikanische  Turnerbund  und  seine  Stellung 
sur  Arbeiterfrage,  1882 ;  Die  Stellung  des  Nordamerikanischen  Turnerbundes 
zur  sozialen  Frage  und  zur  Politik,  in  Turner-Kalender,  1887,  P-  49  ff-  (J- 
Lucas)  ;  Allgemeine  Grundsdtse  des  Nordamerikanischen  Turnerbundes. 
Angenommen  von  der  23.  Bundestagsatzung  in  Chicago  am  28.,  29.  und 
30.  Juni  und  I.  Juli  1908. 


CHAPTER  V. 
SOCIALISM  REFLECTED  IN  GERMAN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 

Was  soil  die  zeronnene  Herrlichkeit, 
Wie  Traume  und  Marchen  sie  kiinden? — 
Wir  sind  die  schaffenden  Kinder  der  Zeit ; 
Wir  singen  die  Schuld,  wir  singen  das  Leid, 
Wir  singen  der  Welt  ihre  Sunden  f 

Wir  suchen  mit  brennenden  Seelen 
Erlosung  aus  tosendem  Streit, 
Und  ob  wir  auch  irren  und  fehlen, 
Wir  dienen  in  Tretie  der  Zeit.98 

German  American  literature  did  not  develop  as  a  succession  of 
well-defined  currents.  It  remained  essentially  a  transplanted  prod 
uct  springing  up  spontaneously  wherever  Germans  collected.  Var 
ious  organizations  such  as  the  Turners,  the  churches,  the  labor 
organizations,  and  singing  societies  did,  however,  tend  to  bring 
about  a  similarity  of  theme  and  unity  of  effort  in  given  channels. 
The  sadness  of  parting  from  the  fatherland  with  all  that  this  term 
signified  to  the  German  heart,  and  the  ensuing  memories  gave  rise 
to  the  sweetest  notes.  The  press  with  its  corps  of  able  editors  did 
much  to  cherish  all  that  was  dearest  in  German  culture.  The  lead 
ers  and  almost  all  the  authors  were  connected  with  it.  But  the 
struggle  for  existence  in  a  strangely  new  land,  and  the  constant 
encroachment  of  the  English  language  hindered  the  development  of 
a  German  American  literature  as  such. 

In  characterizing  German  American  literature  Amalia  von 
Ende  says  strikingly:  "Heimat,  Vaterland,  Muttersprache — ihnen 
weiht  der  Genius  der  deutsch-amerikanischen  Dichtung  den  weitaus 
grossten  Teil  seiner  Bluten — und  viele,  erschreckend  viele  haben 
etwas  'Blutarmes  und  Sehnsuchtkrankes.  Nur  ganz  vereinzelt  schlagt 
er  andere  Saiten  an,  und  dann  wird  die  Kluft  zwischen  modernem 
deutscheuropaischem  und  modernem  deutsch-amerikanischem  Den- 
ken  offenbar.  Es  ist  eine  ganz  kleine  Gemeinde,  die  mit  dem  Zeit- 


98  Konrad  Nies,  Funken,  p.  183  f. 

[64] 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  65 

geist  Schritt  gehalten  hat."99  This  chapter  will  trace  the  reflection 
of  this  Zeitgeist  in  German  American  literature. 

The  literature  of  the  early  German  settlers  was  largely  of  a  re 
ligious  nature,  for  they  had  come  mainly  to  seek  religious  freedom. 
The  writings  of  the  early  Communists  consist,  likewise,  chiefly  of 
poetry  and  treatises  on  religious  subjects.100  There  is  nothing 
strikingly  new  about  it,  since  it  was,  for  the  most  part,  a  reflection 
of  the  Pietistic  movement. 

With  the  economic  and  political  changes  of  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  especially  with  the  revolutions  of  the  thirties 
and  forties  the  quest  for  the  mysterious  "blue  flower"  of  Romanti 
cism  was  abandoned  for  the  more  realistic  services  of  the  Zeitgeist. 
The  common  people  led  by  educated  liberals  began  to  realize  their 
own  individuality,  their  own  importance,  in  a  country  manifestly 
governed  by  arbitrary  tyrants.  Such  poets  as  Herwegh  and  Freili- 
grath  put  their  whole  soul  into  the  struggle  of  the  people  for  their 
political  rights.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  realistic  epoch  in 
literature,  and  Biese  rightly  calls  the  death  of  Goethe  (1832),  the 
Hambacher  Fest  (1832),  and  the  opening  of  the  first  German  rail 
way  (1835)  the  "drei  Marksteine  der  deutschen  Geschichte  im 
neunzehnten  Jahrhundert,  welche  zugleich  den  Abschluss  der 
grossen  idealistischen  Kulturepoche  und  die  ersten  Anfange  einer 
neuen  realistischen  bezeichnen."101 

The  transition  was  represented  by  Young  Germany  who  opposed 
the  classicists  and  romanticists  alike  and  demanded  that  poetry 
should  serve  the  common  weal  and  politics  in  general.  They  called 
attention  to  the  weaknesses  in  man's  social  institutions  and  made 
poetry  a  handmaid  of  reform.  They  were  only  following  the  prin 
ciple  of  ethics  and  politics  already  propounded  by  Jeremy  Bentham : 
the  greatest  happiness  for  the  greatest  possible  number.  The  news 
paper  which  was  from  now  on  to  serve  the  man  on  the  street  as 
well  as  the  leisure  class  at  court  developed  rapidly  and  became  the 
forum  of  public  opinion.  When  America  became  the  "political 


99 Das  literarische  Echo,  I,  p.  998  (May  15,  1899). 

100  Chas.  Nordhoff,  The  Communist  Societies,  New  York,   1875,  p.  421  ff 

101  Alfred  Biese,  Deutsche  Literaturgeschichte,  II,  Miinchen,  1911,  p.  557. 


66  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Utopia"  of  Young  Germany  this  new  movement  took  root  in  the 
New  World  and  found  unhampered  expression.102 

Industrial  and  social  Europe  was  in  the  throes  of  a  sweeping 
transition  period.  Many  Europamiide  left  for  the  wilds  of  America 
to  escape  the  corrupt  and  diseased  Europe.  New  conditions  in  the 
economic  world  demanded  new  standards  of  the  conduct  of  life,  but 
Ernst  Willkomm  complained  in  his  notable  book,  Die  Europamuden 
(i837)103  that  Europe  was  suffering  from  the  epidemic  of  judging 
the  confused  times  by  standards  long  since  antiquated.  The  old 
man  portrayed  in  the  book  hates  to  leave  his  beloved  Germany  but, 
"Es  ist  nicht  mehr  moglich,  als  ehrlicher  Mann  durch  die  Welt  zu 
kommen  in  jetziger  Zeit.  Alles  bricht  zusammen,  die  Armuth  macht 
widerspenstig  und  irreligios.  *  *  *  in  Gottes  Namen,  Kinder, 
gehen  wir  hiniiber  nach  Amerika"  where  his  children  may  have  a 
future.104  At  another  place  the  author  maintains :  "Die  Siinden  der 
Welt  sind  die  Folgen  der  fluchwiirdigen  Verhaltnisse,  die  geboren 
wurden  aus  socialer  Unnatur,  mystischer  Heuchelei — "105 

Reinhardt  Erbschloe,  a  forty-eighter,  depicts  the  economic  con 
ditions  of  the  times  in  his  Walther  und  Martha  in  zwolf  Gesangen 
with  the  hexameters : 

So  war  der  Zustand  in  Deutschland  und  den  benachbarten  Landern 

Gegen  das  Ende  der  ersten  Halfte  uns'res  Jahrhunderts. 

Viele  Verhaltnisse  waren  nicht  mehr  wie  fruher  bestehend, 

Neue  Erfmdungen  stiirzten  so  manches  iiber  den  Haufen, 

Und  wenn  das  Volk  auch  per  Dampf  konnte  reisen  fur  wenige 

Kosten, 

Hatte  es  noch  nicht  begriffen  den  Vortheil  der  eisernen  Schienen, 
Viele  verloren  ihr  Brot  und  wussten  nicht,  was  zu  beginnen, 
Uebervolkerung  machte  sich  fiihlbar  in  alien  Bezirken. 
Tausenden  blieb  nur  das  Auswandern  iibrig  als  einzige  Wahl ; 

Aber  es  war  auch  das  einzige  Mittel,  um  alles  zu  helfen ; 
Freiheit  versprach  es,  bei  Duldung  des  Glaubens  und  Brot. 
Sein  Utopien  konnte  sich  wahlen  ein  Jeder  nach  Lust, 
Wie  das  Bediirfnis  ihn  trieb,  dem  Vaterland  zu  entsagen. 

102  Cf.  T.  S.  Baker,  America  as  the  Political  Utopia  of  Young  Germany, 
in  Americana  Germanica  I,  No.  2;  pp.  62-102  and  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  VII 
and  VIIL 

103  Ernst  Willkomm,  Die  Europamiiden,  Leipzig,  1837,  I,  p.  26  ff. 

104  Ibid.,  II,  p.  106  ff. 

105  Ibid.,  I,  p.  353- 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  67 

Nordamerika  war  fur  die  meisten  das  Land  der  Verheissung ; 
Tausende  batten  gefunden  daselbst  die  gewiinschte  Begliickung, 
Hundert  Tausende  waren  bereit,  ihr  Heil  dort  zu  suchen.106 

This  was  the  time  of  the  industrial  revolution  in  Europe  when 
group  production  was  replacing  individual  effort  and  the  factory 
system  was  crowding  out  the  old  guild  system.  As  a  result  many 
new  economic  theories  were  developed  in  England  and  France 
which  spread  to  neighboring  lands.  After  the  revolutions  of  this 
period  Geneva,  Paris,  Brussels,  and  London  became  the  meeting 
places  of  the  refugees  of  the  countries  in  turmoil.  Societies  were 
founded  by  them  and  political  tracts  published.  This  social  ferment 
in  the  nations  was  threatening  to  disrupt  the  social  fiber  to  its  very 
foundation.  Old  ties  and  customs  were  broken  up  and  people  began 
to  think  for  themselves.  Many  Germans  fled  to  Paris  and  Switzer 
land  where  they  met  and  organized  to  spread  the  new  political  and 
economic  doctrines  to  Germany. 

This  upheaval  in  society  caused  many  an  obscure  laborer  and 
scholar  to  break  out  in  lyrical  gushes  which,  however,  were  fre 
quently  curbed  by  the  strict  censorship  of  the  German  authorities. 
In  France  a  whole  school  of  "Arbeiterdichter"  flourished.  Much  of 
the  best  of  their  poetry  was  subsequently  collected  and  translated 
by  Adolph  Strodtmann  who  was  himself  captivated  by  the  move 
ment.107  In  his  Brutus  schldfst  Du?  he  uttered  the  battle  cry: 

Das  Auge  hell,  die  Stirne  hoch  und  frei : 

So  bricht  das  Schwert  von  starker  Faust  umschlossen, 

Der  Arbeitsmann  sein  Sklavenjoch  entzwei! 

Auf !   lasst  die  Banner  fliegen  ! 

Es  gilt  ein  letztes  Kriegen ! 

Hinaus  zum  Kampf !    Die  Freiheit  fiihrt  uns  an ! 
Fortan  gehort  die  Welt  dem  Arbeitsmann. 

Most  of  the  poetry  was  of  an  inferior  type  written  by  dille- 
tantes;  only  occasionally  did  the  pent-up  feeling  of  the  agitated 
laborer  find  an  adequate  expression. 

Karl  Heinzen  in  one  of  his  critical  attitudes  calls  the  poetry  of 
the  Communists  "eine  wahre  Hunger — und  Jammerpoesie,  die  in 


lwGedichte.   St.  Louis,  1864,  p.  184. 

107  Die  Arbeiterdichtung  in  Frankreich,  New  York,  1863? 


68  Socialism  in   German  American  Literature 

ihrer  geschaftsmassigen  Produktion  und  Absichtlichkeit  schon  eine 
bedeutende  Hohe  auf  dem  Parnass  der  Abgeschmaktheit  erstiegen 
und  vollig  aufgehort  hat,  eine  menschliche  (soziale),  ja  Poesie 
uberhaupt  zu  sein.  Mit  ihrer  Poesie  geht  es  den  Herren  wie  mit  der 
Prosa;  obschon  ihre  Hauptgegenstande  die  popularsten  der  Welt 
sind;  namlich  Essen  und  Trinken,  so  kann  sie  es  doch  nicht  zur 
Popularitat  bringen.  Nichts  aber  ist  natiirlicher,  als  solch  ein  Re- 
sultat;  wenn  man  von  der  einen  Seite  die  trivialsten  Marktobjekte 
zum  Gegenstand  aufgeriebener  Doktrinen  macht  und  von  der  an- 
deren  das  Ideale,  das  man  mit  der  Idee  vom  Staat  fahren  und 
von  einem  bornirten  Realismus  verschlingen  lasst,  nur  durch  Bier 
und  Leberwurst  zu  ersetzen  weiss."108 

This  political  and  socialistic  tendency  first  found  expression  in 
America  in  the  writings  of  the  "Vorachtundvierziger"  and  then  in 
those  of  the  "Achtundvierziger."  The  literature  resulting  was  of  a 
varied  character — periodicals,  treatises  on  social,  economic,  and 
political  questions,  and  polite  literature.109  In  this  chapter  the  writer 
will  endeavor  especially  to  trace  the  socialistic  tendency  in  the  latter. 
The  word  socialistic  in  this  treatise  is  construed  in  its  widest  sense 
as  relating  to  conditions  affecting  man  which  have  resulted  from  the 
historical  development  of  social  institutions  such  as :  political  strug 
gles,  the  contrast  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  labor  and  its  suf 
ferings  and  rewards,  the  people  at  work  and  at  play,  society  and 
crime,  and  the  like. 

Weitling's  primary  interests  were  to  reshape  the  social  fiber  and 
to  elevate  the  masses.  Most  of  his  writings  had  this  purpose  in 
view.110  In  1844  Hoffmann  and  Campe  published  his  Kerkerpoe- 
sien,  which  appears  to  be  the.  only  volume  of  poems  that  he  wrote. 
It  is  not  of  the  first  class  but  some  of  the  poems  are  products  of  gen 
uine  emotion.  A  number  were  reprinted  in  the  Republik  der  Ar 
beit  er.  The  poem,  Die  Nacht,  written  in  January,  1844,  will  serve 
as  an  illustration;  it  was  reprinted  in  the  above  paper  July  12,  1851. 


108Karl  Heinzen,  Die  Opposition,  Mannheim,  1846  p.  47. 

109  Cf.  Chapter  II,  and  also  the  Bibliography. 

110  For  Weitling's  career  see  p.  8  ff. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  69 

The  poem  depicts  very  vividly  the  experiences  of  a  night  spent  in 
prison : 

Entschwunden  ist  die  matte  Tageshelle ; 

Mit  starken  Schritten  naht  die  stille  Nacht, 

Dem  trauernden  Gefang'nen  in  der  Zelle, 

Der  seinen  Schmerz  den  stummen  Wanden  klagt — 

******* 

So  schweigend,  denkend,  wird  in  stiller  Zelle 
Von  Manchem  hier  der  Abend  zugebracht ; 
Denn  lichter  sprudelt  die  Gedankenquelle 
In  stiller  Einsamkeit  und  fmst'rer  Nacht, 
Mein  HofTnungsgnin  soil  dieser  Quell  erfrischen 
Das  Wissen  sich  drin  neue  Perlen  fischen. 
Gedanken  nahren  Geist  und  Hoffnung  noch. 
Das  freie  Wort  kann  ein  Tyrann  wohl  hemmen, 
Doch  den  Gedanken  kann  er  uns  nicht  nehmen, 
Was  unser  Geist  durchdacht,  das  bleibt  uns  doch. 
Da  draussen  fiillt  bei  grossen  Festgelagen 
Sich  mancher  Schlemmer  noch  den  weiten  Bauch ; 
Viel  Andre  nimmt  der  Hunger  bei  dem  Kragen, 
Wie  hier  im  Haus  die  armen  Schlucker  auch, 
Aus  welchen  Frost  und  Elend  Thranen  pressen, 
Gesundheit,  Muth  und  Lebenskraft,  indessen, 
Ein  And'rer  sich  fette  Renten  macht. 
Das  nennt  man  Freiheit !   dieses  Sklavenjoch! 
Und  "sie  soil  leben"  schrien  die  Pinsel  noch. 
Ist's  moglich  !   Gott,  welch'  finst're  Geistesnacht ! — 

Es  schlagt  jetzt  acht.  Der  Spulen  und  der  Rader 

Geschnurre  schweigt.   Das  Tagwerk  ist  vollbracht 

******* 

Soon  the  author  imagines  that  the  people  everywhere  retire  but 
he  hears  the  clock  strike  the  hours.  In  the  dead  stillness  of  night 
he  exclaims : 

Horch  !    Was  war  das  ?    Es  krachte ! — Da,  schon  wieder ! 

Das  sind  die  dicken  Balken  an  der  Thiir. 

Der  Zahn  der  Zeit  nagt  dieses  Bollwerk  nieder; 

Bald  wird  es  fallen  aber  friiher  wir. — 

Vereinigt  hat  der  Mensch  den  Bau  errichtet, 

Vereinzelt  aber  wird  er  drin  vernichtet, 

Vereinigt  kann  er  draussen  widerstehen, 

Wenn  Neider  und  Tyrannen  sich  vermessen, 

Aus  ihm  der  Thranen  bitterste  zu  pressen ; 

Vereinzelt  muss  er  hier  zu  Grunde  gehn. 


7O  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

After  the  hours  have  crept  by  he  continues — 

Die  Uhr  schlagt  f  iinf !    Gleich  wird  der  Wachter  lauten. 

Die  Nacht  ist  aus,  ein  neuer  Morgen  graut. — 

O  holde  Freiheit!    schonste  von  den  Brauten, 

Die  traumend  meines  Geistes  Auge  schaut, 

Wann  wirst  du  unser  Hochzeitbett  bereiten, 

Wann  mich  heraus  aus  diesem  Kerker  leiten  ? — 

Was  mich  erfreute,  gab  ich  fur  dich  hin; 

Ich  lebte  ja  nur,  um  fur  dich  zu  werben; 

Ich  muss  dich  haben,  oder  fur  dich  sterben, 

So  wahr  ich  hier  fur  dich  im  Kerker  bin. 


At  another  time  in  December,  1843,  when  the  monotony  of  im 
prisonment  has  brought  on  another  night  he  soliloquizes : 

Ein  Traum,  ein  Wahn  ist  dieses  kurze  Sein, 
Ein  Wogenspiel  oft  was  wir  denken,  schaff en ; 
Ein  Wellenschaum,  den  wir  zusammenraffen, 
Hiillt  unsers  Lebens  ganzes  Wirken  ein. 
Jetzt  fluthen  wir  noch  stolz  und  kiihn  daher, 
Im  Augenblick  darauf  sind  wir  nicht  mehr. 
Horch,  heulend  dart  sich  Wog'  auf  Woge  bricht, 
Wo  meines  Glaubens  dunkler  Leuchtthurm  steht, 
Und  meiner  Hoffnung  letztes  Banner  weht. 
Hier  Muth  gefasst  mein  Herz,  verzage  nicht  I111 

These  examples  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  Weitling's 
Kerkerpoesien.  When  Weitling  was  released  he  devoted  himself 
wholly  to  agitating  the  cause  of  the  laborer.  Other  poems  written 
by  obscure  authors  and  plain  handicraftsmen  appeared  in  the  Re- 
publik  der  Arbeiter.  They  bore  such  titles  as  Proletarier  Gedanken, 
Das  Geld,  Verbruderung,  Stllles  Gebet  am  Grabe  der  Reaktion,  Kom- 
munistenfresser-Lied,  and  so  on.  The  second  of  these,  Das  Geld, 
begins : 

So  manches  erhabene  schone  Talent 

Geht  oft  f iir  die  Welt  verloren ; 

Denn  es  braucht  zu  seiner  Entwickelung  Geld 

Und  ist  zur  Armuth  geboren. 


u  Republik  der  Arbeiter  for  1851,  p.  160. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  71 

Das  Geld  nur  allein  ist  der  Fortschritt  der  Welt, 

Des  Geistes,  Wissens,  der  Kunste; 

Aber  das  Geld  den  Armen  in  Schranken  halt, 

Dem  Reichen  schafft  es  Verdienste ; — 

******* 

Weitling's  position  with  reference  to  Christianity  and  property 
is  expressed  in  his  Der  kleine  Kommunist. 

Ich  bin  ein  kleiner  Kommunist 
Und  brauche  niemals  mehr 
Als  mir  zum  Leben  notig  ist, 
Das  andre  geb'  ich  her. 

Ich  bin  ein  kleiner  Kommunist 
Der  seine  Briider  liebt 
Und  alles,  was  sein  eigen  ist, 
Auch  gerne  Anderen  gibt. 

***** 

Ich  bin  ein  kleiner  Kommunist 
Und  frage  nicht  nach  Geld, 
Da  unser  Meister  Jesus  Christ 
Davon  ja  auch  nichts  halt. 

Ich  bin  ein  kleiner  Kommunist, 
Ich  bin's  mit  Lieb  und  Treu. 
Und  trete  einst  als  treuer  Christ 
Dem  Arbeitsbunde  bei.112 

Weitling's  favorite  project  was  Communia  where  he  expected 
to  create  a  Utopian  society.  He  has  given  us  a  fine  description  in  a 
rather  attractive  style  of  the  surrounding  country  as  it  appeared  to 
him  early  one  morning  in  May,  1853 : 

"Nie  werde  ich  die  angenehmen  Eindriicke  dieses  nachtlich 
friihen  Spazierganges  vergessen.  Es  war  eine  wahrhaft  italienische 
Nacht  so  wie  ich  sie  oft  in  Biichern  geschildert  gefunden  habe. 
Eine  milde,  laue  Friihlingsluft  umwogte  uns,  kein  Nebel  lag  auf  den 
Bergen  oder  stieg  aus  den  Thalern  empor.  Das  Mondlicht  dammerte 
in  seiner  Mischung  mit  dem  nahenden  Morgenlichte  tauschend  durch 
die  Baume  des  Waldes,  dessen  bliihende  Krauter  und  Baume  uns 
stellenweise  ihr  erquickendes  Aroma  zufiihrten.  Endlich  wurde  es 
Morgen  und  welch  ein  Morgen !  Wir  befanden  uns  hier  im  vollen 
Friihling.  Da  bliihten  in  den  Waldern  und  Praierien,  an  den 

112  Republik  der  Arbeitcr,  January  i,  1853. 


72  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Bachen  und  Abhangen  die  wilden  Aepfel — ,  Pflaumen —  und  Kir- 
schenbaume  und  die  von  den  letzteren  zu  unterscheidenden  Wild- 
cherries  zugleich  mit  den  Krdbeeren  und  Maiapfeln  in  voller  Pracht, 
umkranzt  vom  jugendlichen  Fruhlingsgriin  der  Walder,  Felder, 
Wiesen  und  Biische.  Der  Wipperling,  welcher  in  der  Neige  der 
Nacht  und  bis  zum  dammerenden  Morgen  uns  durch  seinen  ein- 
tonigen  Gesang  ergotzt  hatte,  verstummte  allmahlig,  um  die  Laub- 
frosche  das  grosse  Friilingskonzert  fortsetzen  zu  lassen."113 

A  poetical  view  of  the  surrounding  country  appeared  in  the 
Republik  der  Arbeiter  for  December  6,  1851.  It  was  doubtless  writ 
ten  by  Weitling  and  is  modelled  after  Goethe's  Mignon. 

Kennst  du  das  Land  der  griinen  Praierien, 

Durchschnitten  von  der  Walder  schattig  Griin? 

Das  hohe  Land  in  heit'rer  reiner  Luft, 

Gewiirzet  von  pikantem  Krauterduft, 

Das  Land,  an  dem  der  klare  Turkey  fliesst, 

Der  mit  kristall'nen  Armen  es  umschlingt? 

Kennst  du  es  wohl,  dahin,  dahin, 

Mocht  aus  der  Stadte  Larm  und  Dunst  ich  ziehn ! 

Kennst  du  das  Land,  kennst  du  die  Praierien, 

Durch  die  der  Squalls  und  Blackbirds  Schaaren  ziehen? 

Wo  tief  versteckt  im  Gras  das  Feldhuhn  liegt 

Und  flatternd,  wenn  du  nahst,  von  dannen  fliegt  ? 

Wo  hoch  im  Kreis  der  kleine  Geier  zieht, 

Und  tief  im  Thai  die  wilde  Rebe  bluht  ? 

Kennst  du  es  wohl,  dahin,  dahin, 

Mocht  ich  mit  alien  meinen  Freunden  ziehn! 

Kennst  Du  das  Land,  durch  dessen  Waldesgrim 
Die  stolzen  Hirsche  nach  der  Tranke  ziehn? 
Wo  der  Fasan  in  dunklen  Buschen  weilt  ? 
Und  der  Raccoon  vor  Deinen  Schritten  eilt? 
Wo  wilder  Enten  gold'ne  Farbenpracht, 
Dir  Wald  und  Flur  zum  Paradiese  macht? 
Kennst  Du  es  wohl,  dahin,  dahin, 
Mocht  ich  mit  alien  guten  Menschen  ziehn ! 

Kennst  Du  das  Land  so  still  und  doch  so  schon 
Wo  zwischen  Hiigeln  einige  Hauser  stehn? 
Wo  durch  der  Praierien  frisches  Griin, 
Die  f  etten  Heerden  auf  die  Weiden  ziehn  ? — 


113  Letter  from  Communia,  May  27,  1853,  published  in  the  Republik  der 
Arbeiter. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  73 

Kennst  Du  auch  dort  der  Menschen  guten  Sinn, 
Und  sehnst  Du  Dich  nach  solchen  Menschen  bin? 
Ich  kenn'  es  wohl,  mein  Freund,  drum  sag'  ich :  Ja ! 
Ich  zieh  mit  Dir!   zieh  nach  Kommunia! 

The  prairies  with  their  natural  charms  were  very  attractive  to 
Weitling,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  many  of  the  corrupt  phases 
of  European  civilization.  His  earnest  desire  was  to  furnish  the  peo 
ple  of  limited  means  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  life.  In  all  of  his 
writings  he  felt  that  the  material  rewards  of  life  were  unequally 
distributed,  that  the  common  people  were  chafing  under  this  lack  of 
proper  adjustment.  For  instance,  after  visiting  Niagara  Falls  his 
only  wish  is  that  every  inhabitant  of  New  York,  whether  rich  or  poor, 
might  see  this  wonder  of  the  world.  After  the  failure  of  Communia 
he  practically  disappeared  from  further  notice  during  the  last  eight 
een  years  of  his  life.  He  seems  not  to  have  written  anything  of  note 
during  this  seclusion. 

In  Europe  the  new  scientific  Socialism  based  on  English  political 
economy  and  the  Hegelian  philosophy  as  advocated  by  Mario,  Rod- 
bertus,  Marx,  and  others  overshadowed  all. 

When  Heinzen  (1809-1880)  first  came  to  New  York  in  1848 
Weitling  sought  to  win  him  over  to  his  cause,  but  the  former  was  too 
aristocratic  and  individualistic  to  associate  with  an  unschooled  tailor 
whom  he  considered  an  old  fogy.114  He  saw  little  good  in  Weit 
ling' s  Communism  and  less  that  was  practical.  Heinzen's  activities 
consisted  largely  in  'combatting  arbitrary  governments  and  revealed 
religion.  For  his  sharp  criticism  in  Die  preussische  Bureaukratie 
(1844)  he  was  forced  to  flee  to  Belgium,  where  he  continued  writ 
ing  newspaper  articles  until  he  was  finally  compelled  to  emigrate  to 
America,  where  he  arrived  at  New  York  in  January  of  1848.  In  a 
short  time  he  returned  to  Europe  to  take  part  in  the  revolution  of 
the  same  year,  but  returned  and  became  the  editor  of  the  Schnell- 
post,  which  now  became  unpopular  on  account  of  its  caustic  edi 
torials.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  he  finally  succeeded  in 
founding  the  famous  Pionier  (1854-1879),  which  was  largely  writ- 


114  Cf .  Heinzen,  Erlebtes,  II,  Weitling's  letter  on  page  165  ff.  and  Hein 
zen's  answer  following. 


74  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

ten  by  himself,  and  in  it  he  fought  with  bitter  satire  for  the  "teut- 
scher  Radikalismus,"  whose  zealous  champion  he  was. 

Heinzen  corresponded  with  Freiligrath  in  London,  and  in  1846, 
when  the  revolution  broke  out  in  France  the  latter  sent  him  his 
poem,  Im  Hochland  fiel  der  efste  Schuss,  which  was  published  in 
the  Schnellpost.  Heinzen  also  became  acquainted  with  Karl  Marx 
at  Cologne,  where  the  latter  was  then  editing  the  Rheinische  Zeitung, 
however  he  called  all  the  Communists  "Schwefelbanditen,"  and  is 
unsparing  in  his  criticism  and  lambasting  of  Marx.115 

Weitling  says  of  Heinzen :  "Heinzen  ist  ein  ausgezeichnetes 
Rasonniertalent,  aber  kein  Denker,  kein  schaffender  Genius,  kein 
entschieden  consequenter  Charakter.  Er  hat  sich  mit  seinen  Raison- 
nements  gegen  Gott  und  alle  Welt  und  seiner  Sucht,  einen  originellen 
Gedanken  aufzufischen,  aus  der  teutschen  Republik  in  die  Deutsche 
Zeitung,  aus  der  Bekampf  ung  des  Kommunismus  bis  in  die  Abschaf- 
fung  der  Erbschaft,  in  die  Mondreisen  und  Knielangen  Damenhosen, 
ja  sogar  in  die  Einfuhrung  der  Weiberparlamente  verirrt,  und  dabei 
— ausser  seinen  Damenhosen — nie  einen  originellen  Gedanken  noch 
ein  consequent  zusammengestelltes  Gesellschaftssystem  gefunden. 
Man  erwarte  daher  von  ihm  weiter  nichts  als  Kritiken  nach  alien 
Seiten  hin,  gegen  Alles,  was  besteht,  denn  nach  ihm  ist  alles,  was 
nicht  durch  und  fur  Heinzen  besteht,  auch  werth,  dass  es  zu  Grunde 
geht."116 

The  writings  of  Heinzen  are  numerous,  consisting  of  radical 
and  political  essays,  addresses,  plays,  and  poetry.117 

Aside  from  the  articles  on  the  labor  question  Hermann  Kriege's 
Volks-Tribun  printed  numerous  poems  advocating  its  cause.  Char 
acteristic  in  its  way  is  one  entitled  Auf!  fiir  den  freien  Boden,  by 
Otto  Kornich,  which  begins : 

Gieb  ihn  frei, 

Dass  er  aller  eigen  sei ! 

Freier  Boden,  f reie  Erde ! 

Dass  der  Irrthum  Wahrheit  werde, 


115  For  Heinzen's  relations  with  Marx  see  Heinzen's  Hrlebtes  II,  p.  423  ft. 
™Republik  der  Arbeiter,  October  4,  1851. 

117  Paul  O.  Schinnerer,  Karl  Heinzen,  Reformer,  Poet  and  Literary  Critic 
in  Deutsch-Amerikanische  Ges<chichtsbldtter,  Chicago,  1915,  pp.  84-145. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  75 

Gieb  den  Boden  endlich  frei, 

Tyrannei ! 

*  *  *  *  # 

Or  Joseph  Heise,  of  St.  Louis,  in  Fur  Freiheit  und  Gleichheit  rather 
prosaically  demands: 

Macht  frei,  macht  frei  den  Boden  von  dem  Gelde, 
Der  nur  fur  den  ist,  der  ihn  selbst  bestellt, 
Baut  euch  darauf  der  Eintracht  heil'ge  Zelte, 
Und  lebt  als  Briider  hier  in  dieser  Welt. 


These  attempts  at  poems  were  written  during  the  Free  Soil  agita 
tion,  and  they  are  exceedingly  didactic  in  nature. 

Somewhat  more  successful  was  a  Milwaukee  Communist  who 
addressed  Dr.  George  F.  Seidensticker,  the  political  martyr,  upon 
his  arrival  in  1846,  after  the  following  fashion: 

Willkommen  hier  auf  fremder  Erde, 
Du  Mann  des  Wortes  und  der  That ! 
Willkommen  du,  den  die  Beschwerde 

Des  Kerkers  nicht  gebeuget  hat! 
*****  *  * 

Es  schwelgt  im  Ueberfluss  der  Eine, 
Der  Bruder  darbt  in  Noth  und  Schmach. 
Was  kiimmert,  ob  der  Bettler  weine, 
Den  reichen  Whig  im  Prunkgemach  ? 

Millionen  schmachten  an  der  Kette, 
Weil  sie  aus  Afrika  entstammt, 
Millionen  jagen  um  die  Wette 

Dem  Golde  nach  und  einem  Amt. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Drum,  wackrer  Kampfer,  in  die  Schranken, 
Der  Fortschritt  sei  Dein  Losungswort, 
Bis  Wahn  und  Vorurtheile  wanken, 
Bleib  Du  dem  Volk  ein  sichrer  Hort ! 

Another  poem  of  interest  published  in  the  Volks-Tribun  is  the 
Tischgebet  der  Communisten  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaten,  a  poem 
of  twenty-three  stanzas,  with  the  melody  : 

Es  soil  uns  der  NIaturgeist  walten ; 
oder :    Wer  nur  den  lieben  Gott  lasst  walten. 


76  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

The  poem  begins — 

Natur!   du  giebst  uns  alien  Speise, 
Nicht  nur  dem  Menschen,  auch  dem  Vieh ; 
Nicht  nur  dem  Fisch,  auch  der  Ameise, 
Erhaltst,  ernahrst  und  trankest  sie. 
Und  was  ist  diese  Wunderkraft ! 
Die  alles  dies  erzeugt  und  schafft? 

Es  ist  das  ewig  stille  Wirken, 

Was  immer,  ewig  fort  geschafTt. 

******* 

The  author  also  reminds  us  that  there  is  enough  land  for  all  and 
that  no  one  needs  to  suffer.  He  ends  after  the  fashion  of  Hans 
Sachs : 

Es  singe  dies,  wer  singen  kann, 
Mit  Johann  Heinrich  Wiedemann ! 

The  poem  shows  the  influence  of  Ludwig  Feuerbach's  pantheistic 
philosophy  as  expounded  in  Das  Wesen  des  Christenthums  (1841), 
which  had  been  popularized  among  German  laborers  by  Wilhelm 
Marr.  This  crass  materialistic  philosophy  was  severely  attacked  by 
the  churches  in  the  United  States. 

Another  author  who  contributed  occasionally  to  the  Folks- 
Tribun  was  Paul  Harro-Harring118  (1798-1870),  a  restless  soul  and 
native  of  Sleswick-Holstein.  He  took  part  in  the  Greek  Revolution 
of  1822,  and  the  Polish  Revolution  of  1832.  Two  years  later  he 
came  to  the  United  States  and  later  went  to  South  America  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  freedom.  In  1848  he  took  part  in  the  Sleswick- 
Holstein-Danish  War.  His  restless  liberty-loving  spirit  drove  him 
about  from  place  to  place  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  London 
in  1870.  In  the  name  of  humanity  and  freedom  Harro  felt  it  his 
duty  to  draw  the  sword  for  all  young  nations  striving  for  liberty. 
He  advocated  a  sort  of  poetical  humanity,  which  sees  a  world  of 
free  peoples  who  live  and  labor  together  in  perfect  harmony.119  He 


118  Werke.   Auswahl  letzter  Hand.    2  Bde.  New  York  1844  and  1846. 

119  In  a  letter  to  Kriege  published  in  the  Volks-Tribun  of  Feb.  28,  1846, 
Harro  writes:     "Du  forderst  (in  Erwiderung  meiner  Behauptung)  von  uns 
einen  Musterstaat,  der  den  Geist  unserer  National-Verbindungen  beurkunde? 
Ich  nenne  dir  La  Buade  oriental  e  y  Uraguay   (Montevedio) — als  Staat  im 
Geist  der  Humanitat,  der  seit  Zehn  Jahren  mehr  Blut  der  edelsten  seiner 
Sohne  vergossen  im  Kampf  gegen  den  Despotismus,  als  cure  Communisten 
jemals  Geld  geopfert  haben, — zur  Verwirklichung  cures  Systems." 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  77 

accuses  the  Communists  of  espousing  the  crass  materialistic  inter 
ests  of  a  separate  class  and  of  overlooking  the  "spiritual  element  of 
freedom"  through  which  alone  a  people  can  realize  their  dignity. 
In  the  poem  Der  Menschheit  Auferstehung  he  prophesies: 

Es  ist  kein  Traum ;  es  muss  verwirklicht  werden ; 
Die  Volker  werden  wieder  auferstehen ! 
Das  Himmelreich  der  Liebe  wird  auf  Erden 
Im  Morgenglanz  hervor  ins  Leben  gehn. 
Gelindert  werden  endlich  die  Beschwerden 
Der  Menschen,  wenn  sie  klar  erst  eingesehen, 
Was  noth  ist,  und  in  Liebe  sich  verbinden : 
Das  'Reich  des  Herrn'  auf  Erden  zu  begriinden.120 

Most  of  the  space  of  the  Volks-Tribun  is  naturally  taken  up  by 
discussions  on  the  labor  question,  besides  it  contains  other  articles 
relating  to  the  social  and  cultural  conditions  of  the  times.  Charles 
Vetter  announced  in  its  columns  historical  philosophical  lectures  on 
Communism  and  Socialism,  and  on  German  literature  for  laborers. 
Poems  of  Friedrich  von  Sallet,  Alfred  Meissner,  and  others  are  re 
printed  among  them  is  Herwegh's  Bettelmanns  Hochzeit,  written 
originally  for  Weitling's  Die  junge  Generation.  Heinrich  Koch 
(Antipfaff),  of  St.  Louis,  was  a  contributor,  and  he  reported  that  the 
paper  had  seventy  subscribers  in  his  city.  August  Glaser  sketched 
interesting  pen  pictures  in  his  Wanderungen  durch  New  York. 
Considerable  space  is  also  devoted  to  the  interests  of  Kriege's  "Jung 
America,"  who  participated  actively  in  American  politics. 

During  the  late  forties  Leopold  D.  S.  Alberti  (1816-1892)  was 
active  as  a  journalist  in  New  York.  For  a  time  he  was  the  editor 
of  Weitling's  Republik  der  Arbeiter.  At  the  age  of  thirty-eight  he 


120  Quoted  in  the  Volks-Tribun  of  January  31,  1846. 

With  Lord  Byron  and  many  other  enthusiasts  Harro-Harring  idolized 
Greece  as  shown  in  the  following  stanza  quoted  from  the  poem  Lord  Byron, 
published  originally  in  the  Alte  und  Neue  Welt  (Philadelphia)  October  15, 
1836: 

Und  sollst  du,  Hellas,  rettungslos  versinken, 
Du  schone  Jungfrau  in  der  Jugend  Glariz? 
Sollst  du  den  bittren  Kelch  des  Todes  trinken? 
Grunt  deinem  Haupt  nur  der  Zypressenkranz? 
Gebt  mir  ein  Schwert !     Dein  Ritter  steht  geriistet, 
Freiheit  und  Hellas !    sei  das  Losungswort ! 
Und  Tod  dem  Hunde,  dem's  nach  der  geliistet ! 
Die  Freiheit  ruft  dich  edler  Lord! 


78  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

went  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  to  study  theology  and  later  entered  the 
Lutheran  ministry,  however,  in  1871  he  returned  to  Germany,  where 
he  died  in  1892,  in  Siilfeld  bei  Oldesloe.  In  1865  he  published  a 
volume  of  poems,  Palingenesie  der  Holle,  and  in  1898  appeared 
Gedichte  zweier  Bruder,  by  Leopold  and  Eduard  Alberti.  A  few 
stanzas  from  his  poem,  Die  Rauber,  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  social 
istic  tendency  in  his  poems  : 

Was  ist  Geistesdrang  und  Bildung 
In  der  Armuth  Fluch  und  Haft ; 
Nur  als  Elend  in  dem  Elend 
Trug  ich  Geistesglut  und  Kraft. 

In  dem  Muthe  der  Verzweiflung 
Schwollen  meine  Muskeln  an, 
Und  den  ganzen  Menschen  gab  ich 
Willig  in  der  Arbeit  Bann ; 

Und  von  alien  Erdenschatzen 
Wollt'  ich  durch  der  Miihe  Schweiss 
Nur  den  gar  bescheid'nen  Zins. 
Zum  Eintritt  in  der  Menschheit  Kreis.121 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  some  of  his  best  poems  are  of  a 
different  nature,  as  for  instance :  Idyll;  Kindergruppe;  Hinig,  einig, 
deutsches  Folk;  and  Der  obere  Delaware  im  Fruhling  1853, 

Quite  a  different  personality  than  Alberti  was  Gustav  von 
Struve  (1805-1870),  a  journalist  and  author,  who  came  into  contact 
with  the  German  labor  movement  of  New  York  during  the  fifties. 
He  and  Hecker  were  two  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  the 
Revolution  of  1848,  which  resulted  so  disastrously  for  them.  Al 
though  Struve  associated  with  the  refugee  Communists  in  London, 
he  kept  more  or  less  aloof  from  them  as  he  did  later  in  New  York. 
Up  to  May,  1859,  he  was  editor  of  the  newly  established  Soziale 
Republik,  Organ  der  freien  Arbeiter,  of  New  York.  In  it  he  pub 
lished  among  other  matters  Bine  Proletarierin,  Roman  aus  der  Revo- 
lutionszeit.  Although  Struve's  works  were  chiefly  of  a  political 
character  he  also  wrote  the  dramas,  Die  Verfolgnng  der  Juden  durch 
Hmicho  (1846),  and  Bines  Fursten  Jugendliebe  (1870),  Gedichte, 


^Republik  der  Arbeiter,  December  27,  1851. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  79 


published  in  1906,  and  Handbuch  der  Phrenologie  (1845).  ^s  wife 
sympathized  with  him  in  politics  and  wrote  the  novel,  Die  Zither- 
schlagerin  (1850),  and  other  treatises  of  a  biographical  and  historical 
nature. 

During  this  same  period  Victor  Wilhelm  Frohlich,  a  personal 
friend  of  Uhland,  Kerner,  and  Lenau,  was  driven  by  some  unknown 
impulse  to  the  shores  of  America.  In  1844  he  was  editing  Die  Zeit, 
a  liberal  weekly  with  communistic  leanings,  at  New  York,  while 
shortly  afterwards  he  held  the  same  position  on  the  staff  of  the 
Cincinnati  Volksblatt.  Here  he  also  translated  Sue's  Les  Mysteres 
de  Paris,  wrote  on  the  temperance  question,  and  started  to  write  a 
history  of  political  parties  in  the  United  States.  During  1847  Froh 
lich  was  the  most  noted  poet  in  Cincinnati,  however,  his  productions 
were  didactic.  He  died  in  obscurity  on  Ward's  Island,  New  York.122 

While  the  communist  agitation  was  carried  on  at  New  York  and 
Cincinnati,  Heinrich  Koch  was  championing  the  cause  of  liberalism 
in  the  church,  state,  and  society  at  St.  Louis.  With  prose  and  poetry 
in  his  journalistic  endeavors  he  met  the  enemy  on  these  three  fronts. 
He  was  a  convincing,  popular  orator,  and  had  great  influence  with 
the  laborers.123  Many  of  his  poems  appeared  in  the  German 
American  papers  of  the  time,  a  large  number  in  the  Anzeiger  des 
Westens,  the  organ  of  the  local  "Lateiner."  In  spite  of  the  abyss 
existing  between  the  laborers  and  the  latter,  Kooh  was  on  a  friendly 
footing  with  both. 

After  his  newspaper  ventures  had  failed  he  addressed  his  Com 
munist  brethren  in  the  East  in  the  columns  of  the  Volks-Tribun 
(March  14,  1846)  : 

Da  giebt  es  wohl  Schreiber,  die  Zeitungen  schreiben 
Furs  Pfaffengesindel,  fiir'n  wuchernden  Gauch, 
Doch  Hiilfe  dem  Armen,  das  lassen  sie  bleiben, 
Sie  sorgen  nur  liebend  fiir'n  eigenen  Bauch. 
Auch  mir  ging  zu  Herzen  das  Elend  der  Bruder 
Zu  helfen  ergrifFs  mich  mit  Wort  und  mit  That 
Gleich  schimpften  entsetzlich  politische  Schmierer, 
Und  schrien  von  Umsturz,  Mord,  Raub  und  Verrath. 


.  Der  Deutsche  Pionier  IV,  p.  22,  and  IX,  p.  432  ff. 
See  the  article  by  A.  Eickhoff  in  Der  Deutsche  Pionier  XII,  p.  211  ff. 


8o  Socialism  in   German  American  Literature 

A  few  months  later  he  spoke  in  a  more  resigned  if  not  optimistic 
tone: 

Drum  lasset  uns  wirken  und  schaffen  und  bauen, 
Und  pfliigen  und  pflanzen  mit  emsiger  Hand, 
Und  was  wir  einst  ernten,  der  Zukunft  vertrauen, 
Was  heut'  nicht  verstanden,  wird  morgen  erkannt. 
Die  Menschheit  lebt  ewig !  Zum  ewigen  Reif en 
Kann  ewige  Wahrheit  nicht  fiiichtig  gedeihen. 
Was  wir  nicht,  das  werden  einst  Andre  begreifen, 
Was  die  nicht,  der  Zukunft  kein  Rathsel  mehr  sein. 

Koch's  revolutionary  attitude  became  somewhat  mellowed  when 
age  approached ;  in  the  poem,  Kartatschen-Prinz,  he  confesses : 

Kartatschenprinz,  wie  gern  hatt'  ich  dich 
Vernichtet  einst  mit  wahrer  Herzenslust, 
Im  bittren  Hass,  der  ganz  erfiillte  mich, 
Der  immer  tiefer  grub  sich  in  die  Brust! 
Nun  bin  ich  alt, — alt  sind  wir  Beide  heut', 
Und  hoch  im  Alter  geh'n  wir  Einen  Pfad, 
Du  als  ein  Konig,  ich  ein  Sohn  der  Zeit, — 
Der  Zeit, — die  dich  gepruft,  gelautert  hat. — 

Another  tyrant  hater  who  is  characterized  by  Rattermann124  as 
the  "reddest  of  a  red  Republican"  and  a  thoroughgoing  free  thinker 
was  Karl  von  Schmidt-Biirgeler  (1820-1875).  He  studied  theology 
at  Giessen,  was  disinherited  for  marrying  an  actress,  and  then  in 
tended  to  join  the  Adelskolonie  in  Texas,  but  his  plans  went  amiss. 
After  his  arrival,  in  1846,  in  America  he  was  forced  to  do  all  sorts  of 
menial  labor.  For  a  time  he  was  an  actor  in  Cincinnati.  Later  he 
contributed  to  Rittig's  and  Rothacker's  Der  Unabhangige,  and  to  the 
Volksblatt  and  Volksfreund.  A  stanza  from  his  poem,  Der  blinde 
Bettler,  reflects  industrial  conditions  and  the  plight  of  the  defec 
tive — 

Ich  hore  wohl  der  Arbeit  riistig  Weben, 

Hor'  wie  der  Webstuhl  saust ;   der  Hammer  drohnt. 

Hor'  die  Maschine  sich  im  Takte  heben, 

Hor'  wie  des  Dampfes  Kraft  sich  muht  und  stohnt. 


124  For  biography  by  Rattermann  see  Der  Deutsche  Pionier,  IX,  pp.  461- 
465. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  Si 

Doch  ich  bin  blind,  arbeiten  kann  ich  nicht, 

In  meine  Nacht  kein  Sonnenschimmer  bricht ; 

Euch  hat  Gott  giitig  belles  Leben  gegeben ; 

Doch  ich  bin  blind,  bin  blind,  und  muss  doch  leben! 

The  forty-eighters  brought  a  mass  of  new  ideas  to  America. 
Although  there  was  no  one  set  of  constructive  ideas  to  bind  them 
together,  nevertheless,  they  were  all  exiles  who  were  united  in  de 
nouncing  arbitrary  governments  and  old  well-established  traditions 
in  general.  They  were  a  product  of  the  newly  developed  German 
universities.  At  first  most  of  them  expected  to  return  to  Germany 
when  the  turmoil  of  the  revolution  had  subsided,  later  many  enter 
tained  the  idea  of  establishing  a  great  German  Republic  probably 
within  the  confines  of  the  United  States,  or  even  to  found  a  United 
States  of  the  World.  However,  such  lofty  aspirations  slackened  and 
were  diverted  into  other  channels.  "Wie  manche  geistige  Kraft," 
remarked  Eickhoff,125  "welche  die  damaligen  revolutionaren  Stiirme 
in  Europa  iiber  den  Ocean  trieben,  ist  unter  dem  rauhen  Himmel 
der  neuen  Welt  seitdem  verwittert !"  Some  of  them  rose  to  promi 
nence  in  American  politics,  a  few  returned  to  Europe,  and  a  large 
number  became  journalists  and  authors  of  more  or  less  note. 

Some  of  the  well-known  forty-eighters  who  were  at  some  time 
in  their  career  interested  in  furthering  socialistic  ideas  are :  Edmund 
Marklin,  Eduard  Leyh,  Gustav  Struve,  Julius  Frobel,  A.  C.  Wiesner, 
E.  I.  Koch,  Carl  Schnauffer,  Fr.  Hecker,  G.  T.  Kellner,  Wm.  Rapp, 
Rittig,  Fr.  Hassaurek,  Thieme,  K.  L.  Bernays,  Hr.  Bornstein,  A.  H. 
Strodtmann,  Gertrud  and  Maria  Blode,  Dr.  Tiedemann,  Otto  Rup- 
pius,  Domschke,  Fritz  and  Mathilde  Anneke,  E.  A.  Ziindt,  Chr. 
Esselen,  Ed.  Dorsch,  Fenner  von  Fenneberg,  Hugo  Andriessen, 
Aug.  and  Gottfried  Becker,  Otto  Dresel,  Wm.  Rothacker,  R.  Solger, 
R.  Erbschloe,  Herm.  Raster,  Niklas  Miiller,  Emil  Praetorius,  Hr. 
Binder,  Carl  Beyschlag,  Otto  Bretthauer,  Karl  Schramm,  J.  H. 
Wiedemann,  and  Karl  D.  A.  Douai.  In  fact,  all  of  the  forty-eighters 
were  more  or  less  acquainted  with  the  communistic  ideas  developing 
in  Europe  during  the  forties,  however,  they  were  not  generally  in 


™Der  Deutsche  Pionier  XII,  p.  215. 


82  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

sympathy  with  the  "Handwerkerkommunismus,"  as  advocated  by 
such  men  as  Weitling. 

Many  of  the  ideas  held  by  them  are  now,  generally,  considered 
socialistic.  Friedrich  Hassaurek  said  in  an  address  delivered  at 
Cincinnati  May  25,  1875,  of  the  forty-eighters : 

"Es  wiirde  amiisant  sein,  wenn  man  alle  die  Vorschlage  zusam- 
menstellen  konnte,  die  damals  discutirt  und  befiirwortet  wurden. 
Abschaffung  der  Prasidentschaft  und  des  Zwei-Kammersystems, 
Abschaffung  der  einzelnen  Staats-Regierungen,  Abschaffung  der 
Ehe  und  Erziehung  der  Kinder  durch  den  Staat,  Abschaffung  des 
Geldes  oder  wenigstens  Einfiihrung  von  Progressiv-Steuern,  durch 
welche  es  den  Reichen  unmoglich  gemacht  werden  wiirde,  mehr  als 
ein  gewisses  vorgeschriebenes  Vermogens-Quantum  zu  besitzen,  Ab 
schaffung  des  Erbrechts,  Bekleidung  und  Verkostigung  der  armen 
Kinder  wahrend  der  Schuljahre  auf  offentliche  Kosten,  natiirlich 
auch  Abschaffung  der  Sclaverei,  Einfiihrung  eines  Systems  der 
Riickberufbarkeit  der  Volksvertreter  u.s.w.  Nach  alien  Richtungen 
hin  wurde  abgeschafft  und  in  alien  Himmelsgegenden  wurden  die 
Luftschlosser  eines  neuen  und  perfekten  Staatswesens  aufgebaut. 
Im  Himmel  hatte  der  Hebe  Herrgott  und  in  der  Holle  der  Teufel 
keine  Ruhe.  Ein  Jeder  wollte  weiter  vorwarts  gehen  und  mehr 
bieten,  als  alle  die  Anderen.  Wer  nicht  mit  den  Weitesten  ging  und 
dieselben  womoglich  zu  iiberbieten  verstand,  wurde  als  Reaktionar 
oder  als  konservativer  Leisetreter  und  Feigling  verschrieen."126 

One  of  the  most  talented  poets  of  the  forty-eighters  was  Adolf 
Heinrich  Strodtmann  (1829-1879),  a  native  of  Flensburg,  who  re 
mained  but  four  years  in  the  United  States  and  then  returned  to 
Europe.  He  took  part  in  the  Sleswick-Holstein  war,  and  in  1848 
entered  the  University  of  Bonn,  from  which  he  was  soon  expelled, 
for  writing  a  satirical  poem  on  Gottfried  Kinkel.  After  spending 
some  time  in  Paris  he  went  to  London  and  in  1852  the  "Europamude" 
poet  sailed  to  America: 

Ein  wilder  Geselle  auf  wildem  Meer, 
Gewappnet  in  blinkender  Liederwehr, 
So  komm'  ich  vom  kranken  Europa  her 

Zu  euch  hiniibergeschwommen. 
*********** 

Kein  Traumer  bin  ich,  den  Kampf  erschreckt, 
Kein  Tor,  der  bleiche  Systeme  heckt — 


*Der  Deutsche  Pionier  VII,  p.  112  ff. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  83 

Mich  hat  aus  dem  Schlummer  die  Zeit  geweckt, 
Ihr  Schaffen  riistig  zu  teilen ; 


Und  so  komm'  ich  zu  euch !  was  die  Stunde  bringt, 
Ob  sie  Ketten  bricht,  ob  sie  Schwerter  schwingt, 
Ob  sie  jauchzende  Lieder  der  Zukunft  singt ; 
Ich  will  es  glaubig  erlauschen, 

Will  mich  stellen  zu  euch  in  Kampf  und  Pein, 
Bis  vom  letzten  Sklaven  die  Erde  rein, 
Und  der  Gleichheit  Banner  im  Morgenschein 
Der  Armen  Tempel  umrauschen. 

Strodtmann  opened  a  book-store  in  Philadelphia,  and  published 
an  illustrated  comic  weekly,  Die  Lokomotive  (1853),  a  small  eight- 
page  sheet,  which  soon  proved  to  be  a  failure  financially.  In  1856 
he  returned  to  Europe. 

He  was  a  very  productive  author  and  translator.  Most  of  his 
writings  were  inspired  in  Europe,  but  America  left  an  indelible  im 
pression  on  his  memory.  His  Brutus  schldfst  duf  Zeitgedichte 
(1863)  and  also  Die  Arbeit erdichtung  in  Frankreich,  a  collection 
of  French  verse  in  translation,  are  distinctly  socialistic  in  character. 
German  American  Socialist  newspapers  frequently  reprint  poems 
from  these  collections.  Both  of  the  books  were  excluded  from  Ham 
burg  by  the  anti-Socialist  in  1878.  Such  poems  as  Volk  und  Furst, 
Fur  Polen,  and  Arbeiterlied  have  as  a  central  thought  the  oppression 
of  the  people  that  toil  by  the  arrogant  ruling  class.  The  latter  is  a 
war-cry  of  the  toilers  as  they  march  forth  to  champion  the  rights 
of  the  oppressed.  Besides  numerous  works  Strodtmann  also  wrote 
the  first  scientific  biography  of  Heine.127 

Among  the  poets  who  were  active  in  Turner  circles  and  whose 
works  show  a  tendency  to  reflect  social  conditions  are  Wilhelm 
Rothacker  (1828-1859),  Johann  Straubenmiiller  (1814-1897),  Carl 
H.  Schnauffer  (1823-1854),  Ernst  A.  Ziindt  (1819-1900),  Friedrich 
C.  Castelhun  (1828-1906),  Max  Hempel  (1863-1906),  and  Karl 
Kniep  (1845-  )•  The' Turner  literature  which  is  not  extensive 
and  is  chiefly  lyrical  did  not,  as  a  rule,  take  up  economic  questions, 
but  was  chiefly  interested  in  the  mental  and  physical  development 


For  a  list  of  his  works  see  B rummer f  Dichterlexikon. 


84  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

of  the  individual  as  a  free  citizen.128  The  Turners  were  especially 
vehement  in  their  denunciation  of  "Pfaffentum,"  "Muckertum,"  and 
"Temperenz."  They  opposed  oppression  of  any  kind  and  were  un 
compromising  in  their  attitude  towards  slavery. 

Rothacker  was  born  in  Baden  in  1828.  Disliking  the  study  of 
law  at  the  University  of  Freiburg  he  went  to  Tubingen  to  study  lit 
erature  and  aesthetics  under  the  liberal  minded  Friedrich  Theodor 
Vischer.  For  his  participation  in  the  Revolution  of  1848  he  had  to 
flee,  so  he  went  to  Switzerland.  From  there  he  went  to  England  and 
sailed  on  the  same  ship  with  Karl  Heinzen  for  New  York,  arriving 
in  October,  1850.  In  America  he  was  connected  with  the  West  Penn- 
sylvanische  Staatszeitung,  of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  Hochw'dchter,  of 
Cincinnati.  In  1853  he  founded  the  Menschenfechte  in  the  latter 
city,  which,  however,  did  not  prosper,  and  four  years  later  he  be 
came  editor  of  the  Albany  Freie  Blatter,  which  post  he  left  the  next 
year  to  edit  the  Turnzeitung  at  Dubuque.  He  lived  but  thirty-one 
years.  His  Hinterlassene  Schriften  were  published  by  friends  at 
Cincinnati  in  1860. 

Johann  Straubenmiiller,  the  son  of  a  craftsman,  was  born  in 
Germany  in  1814  and  died  at  New  York  in  1897.  During  the  revo 
lutionary  days  of  1848  and  1849  he  was  a  writer,  popular  orator  and 
agitator,  which  got  him  into  difficulty  with  the  authorities,  who  sen 
tenced  him,  but  later  pardoned  him  on  condition  that  he  emigrate  to 
America.  After  landing  at  Baltimore  in  1852  he  followed  the  pro 
fession  of  a  teacher  and  journalist.  His  Herbstrosen,  gesammelte 
Gedichte,  were  published  at  New  York  in  1889;  other  poems  ap 
peared  in  the  Turner-Kalender.  The  poems  Wunsch  und  Bitte,  Die 
Arbeit,  Neujahrswiinsche,  Bin  faules  Lied,  and  Zum  4.  Juli,  reveal 
the  author's  attitude  towards  the  laborer,  who  is  pictured  as  being 
the  producer  of  much  good,  but  is  constantly  oppressed  by  the 
moneyed  class.  His  attitude  finds  expression,  for  example,  in  the 
aphorism : 

Angeerbte  Millionen 

Sind  meist  angeerbter  Raub. 

Weg  mit  dem  histor'schen  Rechte, 


mCf.  M.  D.  Learned,  German  American  Turner  Lyric,  Baltimore,  1897. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  85 

Das  die  Masse  macht  zum  Knechte 
Und  den  Armen  driickt  in  Staub  !129 

•  .  .    :  .    .' 

or  in  Die  Prominenten — 

Wir  sind  umsonst  nicht  prominent, 

Wir  haben  Millionen ! 

Wir  haben  das  Erwerbstalent 

Und  wissen  zu  belohnen. 

Wir  geben  stets  den  schonsten  Ball, 

Die  bestbesuchten  Feste, 

Und  leben  flott  beim  Jubelschall 

Der  aufgefrischten  Gaste. 


Wir  sind  nun  einmal  prominent, 
Wir  ziehen  hohe  Renten, 
Das  Geld  ist  unser  Element, 
Wir  fangen  gold'ne  Enten. 
Gesetze  braucht  der  arme  Mann, 
Wir  konnen  sie  entbehren, 
Der  wahre  Mensch  fangt  doch  nur  an 
Bei  uns — den  Millionaren  !130 

Ernest  Anton  Ziindt  was  born  at  Georgenberg,  Suabia,  in  1819, 
and  subsequently  received  a  university  training  at  Munich.  In  1857 
he  emigrated  to  America,  where  he  was  active  as  a  teacher  and 
editor  of  various  newspapers  until  his  death  in  1900.  His  Hbbe  und 
Flut.  Gesammelte  Lyrische  Dichtungen  und  Jugurtha,  Trauerspiel 
in  fiinf  Akten  was  published  at  Milwaukee  in  1894.  Some  poems 
also  appeared  in  the  Turner-Kalender.  Ziindt  sternly  opposed  in 
fringement  upon  the  individual's  liberty,  be  it  in  the  material  or 
spiritual  concerns  of  life.131  He  believed  in  the  saving  powers  of 
science  and  combatted  theological  dogmas. 

One  of  his  poems  which  reflects  industrial  conditions  is  Heim- 
kehr  von  der  Arbeit;  the  day  has  ended  and  the  father  returns  home 
from  work : 

Zur  Neige  geht  der  Tag ;  der  Hammer  ruht ; 
Das  Feuer  ist  geloscht ;  der  Dampf  verbraucht, 


m  Amefikanischer  Turner-Kalender,  1881,  p.  no. 

130  Ibid.,  1891,  p.  68. 

131  Cf.  the  poems   Geistiges   Turnen  in   Turner-Kalender   for    1884,,  and 
Unentwegt  in  the  1889  edition. 


86  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Und  Vogel  fliegen,  wo  der  Schlot  geraucht. 
Nur  in  der  Asche  glimmt  noch  etwas  Gluth ; 
Und  aus  der  Werkstatt  kommt  der  miide  Mann ; 
Er  athmet  auf  und  tritt  den  Heimweg  an. 

The  remaining  stanzas  present  an  idyllic  family  scene  and  there 
is  no  tendency  to  become  didactic,  but  in  the  poem  Brot  the  attitude 
is  different: 


Verstande  jeder  doch  den  Sinn  von  Brot; 
Nur  wer  es  schwer  verdient,  weiss  es  zu  ehren ; 
Ein  Heiligtum  der  kummervollen  Not, 
Nichts  Jenen,  die  von  gold'nen  Schiissem  zehren. 
Wer's  nie  erfleht,  weil  Hunger  ihn  gequalt, 
Der  kennt  nicht  jene  schlaflos  bangen  Sorgen, 
In  denen  man  die  bittern  Stunden  zahlt, 
Erschreckend  vor  dem  hoffnungslosen  Morgen. 


The  whole  poem  depicts  the  want  and  misery  of  the  needy. 
In  Mahnruf  the  author  hints  at  a  coming  revolution : 


Er  muss  kommen,  der  Tag  des  Gerichts, 

Der  die  goldenen  Schalen  wegfegt 

Von  den  Tischen  der  Schlemmer, 

Der  die  Waage  senkt  f  iir  das  Volk, 

Der  nach  dem  luftreinigenden, 

Dem  vernichtenden  Wetter 

Friede,  Bruderliebe,  Wahrheit 

HeraufTuhrt  fur  Alle, 

Den  Lohn  fiir  die  Darbenden, 

Die  Vernichtung  den  Bosen.132 


Many  Socialists  believe  in  a  coming  revolution  or  catastrophe, 
and  that  misery  is  constantly  increasing. 

Zundt  strongly  favored  gymnastic  exercises  so  that  the  indi 
vidual  might  champion  his  own  inherent  rights. 

Wer  recht  im  Turnen  sich  geiibt, 
Der  springt  auch  sonst,  wo's  gilt, 


Stimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  667  f . 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  87 

So  hoch,  als  es  die  Freiheit  liebt, 

Von  der  sein  Herz  erfiillt. 

Wer  auf  dem  Turnplatz  Sieger  bleibt, 

Steht  iiberall  seinen  Mann; 

Was  Schwachlinge  zum  Fliehen  treibt, 

Ficht  keinen  Turner  an! 

Another  enthusiastic  Turner  and  herald  of  freedom  was  Carl 
Heinrich  SchnaufFer,  a  native  of  Wiirttemberg,  who  already  as  a 
student  at  the  University  of  Heidelberg  gained  recognition  as  a  poet. 
Among  his  acquaintances  here  were  Hecker,  Struve,  and  Blind.  In 
1848  and  1849  ne  to°k  part  in  the  unsuccessful  attempt  of  the  people 
to  gain  their  liberties.  He  was  compelled  to  flee,  seeking  a  refuge 
in  Switzerland  from  where  he  soon  went  to  England  and  in  com 
pany  of  a  student  friend  visited  the  Scotch  Highlands.  While  there 
he  wrote  his  drama,  Cromwell.  About  a  year  later  he  landed  at 
Baltimore  and  established  the  Wecker,  which  was  supported  by  the 
Turners  and  German  workingmen.  He  was  not,  however,  a  typical 
representative  of  the  labor  movement  of  the  fifties  and  Weitling 
soon  found  fault  with  his  views.  SchnaufTer's  promising  literary 
career  was  cut  short  by  his  untimely  death  in  1854  at  the  age  of 
thirty-one.133 

Among  his  poems  which  reflect  economic  conditions  are  Der 
Weber,  in  which  man  is  represented  as  a  weaver  engaged  at  the 
weaving  loom  of  time.  Der  in  London  verhungernde  Savoyarden- 
knabe  vividly  portrays  the  struggle  of  the  poor  in  winning  their 
daily  bread.  Der  Wanderer  represents  a  type  of  vagabond  poetry ; 
it  characterizes  those  individuals  who  do  not  fit  into  the  social  struc 
ture.  Der  Emigrant  is  one  of  the  numerous  German  poems  reflect 
ing  the  thoughts  of  the  departing  emigrant.  Mahnruf  is  a  call  to 
work  written  for  the  first  number  of  the  Wecker.  In  Der  Arbeiter 
Messias  steam  is  hailed  as  the  deliverer  of  mankind  from  grinding 
toil.  Need  and  oppression  is  depicted  in  the  poem,  Gedanken  eines 
deutschen  Handwerksburschen.  SchnaufTer's  poems  reflect  the 
social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  times  but  are  not  socialistic 
in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word. 


133  His  works  are  Totenkranze  (poems),  1850;  Kbnig  Carl  I.  oder  Crom 
well  und  die  englische  Revolution.  Trauerspiel  in  funf  Akten,  1854;  Stu- 
dentenbriefe  und  Schilderung  des  Fliichtlingslebens,  1851 ;  Lieder  und  Ge- 
dichte  aus  dem  Nachlass,  1879. 


88  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Much  more  positive  in  his  views  towards  the  social  question 
was  Friedrich  C.  Castelhun,  a  native  of  Nordheim  bei  Worms. 
After  completing  the  course  in  the  Gymnasium  at  Bensheim  he  emi 
grated  in  1846  to  the  United  States,  where  he  studied  medicine  at 
Cleveland  and  Ann  Arbor.  After  completing  his  course  at  Wiirz- 
burg,  Vienna,  and  Prague  he  spent  most  of  his  subsequent  life  as  a 
physician  at  St.  Louis.  He  published  a  volume  of  poems  in  1883, 
which  had  reached  its  fourth  edition  by  1902. 

In  the  poem,  Auf  einem  Auswanderer-Schiffe,  the  author  is 
moved  by  the  pitiless  fate  of  the  steerage  passengers  and  his  memory 
harks  back  to  Europe : 


Befreie  den  hungernden  Armen 
Aus  nagender  Erdenqual; 
Vernichte  ohne  Erbarmen 
Die  Peiniger  allzumal ! 

Sie  feiern  rauschende  Feste, 
Wie  sehr  auch  klagende  Noth ; 
Sie  laden  schwelgende  Gaste, 
Und  Tausenden  fehlt  es  an  Brot. 

Sie  sind  des  Gesetzes  Hiiter 
Und  rauben  und  plundern  uns  auch ; 
Sie  sichern  sich  Stellen  und  Giiter, 
Uns  bleibt  nicht  Scholle  noch  Haus. 

Wir  miissen  fort  aus  dem  Lande, 
Das,  traun !  auch  uns  gehort, 
Fiir  das  im  Schlachten  Brande 
Auch  wir  geschwungen  das  Schwert. 

*  ***** 

In  Kennt  ihr  das  Land?™*  the  author  prophesies  that  soon  the 
storm  of  freedom  will  liberate  his  oppressed  countrymen. 

The  memory  of  the  fatherland  is  cherished  by  most  German 
American  poets ;  its  weal  and  woe  is  a  subject  of  concern  to  them. 
In  Auf  der  Nordsee  (1856)  the  poet  laments  over  Germany's  con 
dition  as  compared  with  its  past. 


184  Cf.  the  poems  of  like  title  all  modeled  after  Mignons  Lied  by  Weitling, 
Knortz,  Jacob  Smith,  Bayard  Taylor,  Karl  Peter,  Heinrich  Binder. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  89 

Wie  anders,  anciers  ist  es  jetzt! 
Der  Name  nur  noch  weilt, 
Das  stolze  Banner  ist  zerfetzt, 
Das  Vaterland  getheilt. 

Die  Ruhmeskranze  sind  verdorrt, 
Es  bliihn  nur  Schmach  und  Noth; 
Die  Sohne  Deutschlands  ziehen  fort 
Um  Arbeit  und  um  Brot. 

Sie  ziehen  elend  und  bedrangt 
Mit  ihrer  Hoffnung  Rest, 
Ins  Zwischendeck  hinabgezwangt, 
Den  Blick  gewandt  nach  West! 

Castelhun's  sympathy  flows  out  to  the  man  whose  lot  it  is  to 
spend  all  his  time  in  manual  labor  to  eke  out  an  existence.  For  in 
stance,  in  Bin  Proletar  he  asks : 

Von  Hand  zu  Mund,  von  Hand  zu  Mund! 

Was  ist  das  fur  ein  Leben! 
Dass  auf  dem  Tisch  das  Brot  nicht  fehlt, 

Sein  ganzes,  ganzes  Streben : 
Was  unsrem  Dasein  Wert  verleiht, 

Fur  ihn  ist's  nicht  vorhanden ; 
Was  uns  die  Erde  Schones  beut, 

Fur  ihn  ist's  nicht  entstanden.135 

******* 

In  Die  Arbeiter  the  workers  are  encouraged  to  struggle  as  a 
class,  for  the  privileged  classes  have  never  been  in  the  habit  of  vol 
untarily  sacrificing  their  privileges.  This  didactic  attitude  is  also 
maintained  in  the  short  poems,  Recht  und  Pflicht  zur  Arbeit  and 
Den  Arbeitern.  The  principle  of  the  right  to  demand  work  is 
brought  up  in  the  distich  Arbeiter  und  Drohnen: 

Bescheiden  ist,  was  sie  verlangen, 

Das  Recht  zur  Arbeit,  meinst  du  nicht? 

Doch  wer  stets  miissig  ist  gegangen, 

Der  scheut  und  hasst  die  Arbeitspflicht.138 

Castelhun  does  not  admire  the  reformers  that  dismiss  with  dis 
dain  the  questions  of  the  material  welfare  of  life.  He  does  not  be- 


133  Sfimmen  der  Freihcit,  p.  691. 
136  Turner-Kalender,  1891,  p.  113. 


90  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

lieVe  that  bigotry  and  revealed  religion  are  alone  primarily  respon 
sible  for  the  prevailing  lack  of  social  adjustment  as  the  p 'faff 'en  der 
Vernunft, 

Die  mit  Pathos  deklamieren,  Alles  ware  wohlbestellt, 
Wenn  der  alte  Bibelglaube  nicht  mehr  herrschte  auf  der 

Welt. 
Dass  auch  dann  das  Elend  stohnte,  das  bekummert  sie  nicht 

sehr. 
********* 

Priester,    Prediger   und    Sprecher,    Pfaffen    seid   ihr   alle 
samt! 

Although  the  freethinkers  and  the  socialistically  inclined  stand, 
generally,  for  the  same  principles,  the  former  emphasize  the  libera 
tion  of  the  mind,  and  the  latter  the  liberation  of  the  individual  from 
economic  wants. 

Another  prominent  Turner  who  exhibits  a  socialistic  tendency 
in  his  poems  is  Jakob  Heintz,  a  cabinet  maker  and  furniture  dealer 
of  New  York,  who  came  to  America  in  1848.  A  volume  of  his 
poems  was  published  at  New  York  in  1888.  Other  poems  were 
published  in  the  Turner-Kalender,  among  them  An's  Werk  (1885), 
which  contains  the  stanza : 

So  lang  noch  Gold  der  Konig  ist, 
Der  Wucher  sein  Minister, 
So  lang  noch  iibt  die  f  alsche  List 
Der  frommelnde  Philister, 

So  lang  man  dient  der  Corruption, 

Dem  Schwindel,  dem  enormen, 

So  lange  sucht  den  schonsten  Lohn 

Im  Kampfe  fur  Reformen ! 

Like  a  true  Turner,  Heintz  attacks  priestcraft  and  the  usurer, 
and,  in  short,  all  elements  of  society  that  tend  to  hamper  the  free  and 
happy  existence  of  the  individual. 

Heintz  thinks  that  woman  belongs  in  the  home,  for  in  Zur 
Frauenfrage  he  says : 

Kin  sittsam  Weib,  sie  ist  des  Hauses  Segen, 
Die  Kinderschaar  erzieht  sie  mit  Geschick 
Und  Mutterpflicht  fiihrt  sie  auf  rechten  Wegen 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  91 

Zu  griinden  fest  sich  ein  Familiengliick. 

Im  trauten  Heim, — Beschiitzerin  der  Liebe, 
Da  herrsche  sie ! — nicht  im  Vereinsgetriebe.137 

Like  Heintz,  Max  Hempel,  who  came  to  America  in  1880 
strove  with  word  and  pen  to  right  the  lack  of  adjustment  in  our 
social  structure.  He  followed  the  profession  of  teaching  in  St. 
Louis  and  Omaha.  Later  he  studied  medicine  at  Washington  Uni 
versity  and  was  graduated  in  1901.  From  1893  the  time  of  his  death 
in  1906  he  was  also  speaker  of  the  Independent  Congregation  of 
North  St.  Louis,  which  position  gave  him  a  good  opportunity  to 
express  his  monistic  view  of  the  universe  and  other  liberal  religious 
ideas.  His  religious  views  are  shown  in  such  poems  as  Verschie- 
dener  Glaube,  Warum  ich  nicht  glaube  an  Gott,  Dreiheit  und  Zwei- 
heit,  Der  Zweifel,  and  others.  A  volume  of  Turner  songs,  Turner- 
leben,  appeared  in  1883  and  his  Gedichte  were  published  at  St. 
Louis  in  1909. 

The  gulf  existing  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  misery  of 
the  one  and  the  extravagance  of  the  other  is  emphasized  in  such 
poems  as  Sie  miissen  betteln,  wenn  sie  hungrig  sind.  A  poverty- 
stricken  father  in  his  humble  and  unsanitary  quarters,  at  the  verge 
of  death,  feels  resentful  towards  his  wealthy  employer  and  exclaims : 

Euch  faulen  Reichen  kommt  das  Gliick  im  Schlafe, 

Wolliistig  wuhlet  ihr  im  Ueberfluss, 

Indes  der  arme  Arbeitsmann,  der  Sklave, 

Mit  Weib  und  Kindern  darben  muss. 

O  nennt  ihr  das  ein  gliicklich  Menschenleben, 

Das  nie  entrinnet  schwerer  Arbeit  Frohn, 

Und  das  sich  stiickweis'  muss  an  Den  vergeben, 

Der  es  erkauft  um  einen  kargen  Lohn  !138 

The  modern  factory  system  is  reflected  in  Zeitbild: 

Die  Schlote  rauchen,  die  Metalle  kochen, 

Der  Rader  Sausen  und  der  Hammer  Pochen 

Erschiittert  bang  des  Baues  leichte  Wande. 

Heiss,  wie  die  immer  f  rischgeschiirten  Brande 

Der  hohen  Oef en,  wallt  die  Luft  im  Saale ; 

Durch  blinde  Scheiben  schleicht  das  Licht,  das  fahle. 


37  Turncr-Kalender,  1898,  p.  78  f . 
i3sStimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  449  ff. 


92  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Die  Lungen  stohnen  und  die  Muskeln  schwellen, 
Von  russgeschwarzten  Mannerstirnen  quellen 
Des  Schweisses  Perlen. 

Contrasted  to  this  scene  is  the  home  of  the  factory  owner : 

Driiben  in  dem  reichen, 

Kostbar  geschmiickten  Hause  sitzt  im  weichen 

Lehnsessel  der  Fabrikherr,  und  er  lachelt  heiter, 

Denn  auf  des  Reichtums  steiler  Stufenleiter 

Hat  er  die  hochste  Sprosse  bald  erklommen. 

Er  murmelt :  "Auf  die  hochste  muss  ich  kommen, 

Hs  geht  zu  langsam  noch !   Wer  Millionen 

Gewinnen  will,  darf  keine  Andern  schonen. 

Die  Preise  holier !   Nied'ren  Lohn  den  Leuten  !"139 

The  poem  continues  picturing  the  strained  relations  existing  between 
capital  and  labor  and  how  the  Genius  of  mankind  hovers  above  it 
all  and  sees  the  old  system  finally  collapse.  In  Das  neue  Maienlied 
Hempel  likewise  stresses  the  plight  of  the  needy. 

Quite  different  in  his  attitude  is  Karl  Kniep  of  Newark  when  in 
Arbeit ers  Liebchen  he  sings : 

Will  Morgens  ich  zur  Arbeit  geh'n, 
Muss  erst  ich  Liebchens  Antlitz  seh'n, 
An  ihrem  Haus  zieht's  mich  vorbei, 
Das  sicher  mir  ihr  Anblick  sei. 

Und  wenn  mein  Arm  den  Hammer  schwingt, 
In's  Ohr  mir  Liebchens  Stimme  dringt, 
Und  aus  der  Esse  Feuergluth 

Lacht  mir  ihr  Bildniss  lieb  und  gut.140 
******** 

Similarly  in  another  poem,  Die  Arbeit  ruft,  where  the  workingman 
does  not  forget  his  sweetheart  from  whose  presence  the  factory 
whistle  has  hurriedly  called  him : 

Will  ein  Nest  Dir  bauen, 
Darf  nicht  miissig  schauen, 
Hand  und  Kopf  soil  zielbewusst 
Vorwarts  streben  voller  Lust. 

Dampfwerk  stamp  ft  und  drohnet, 


139  Stimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  451. 

u°Durch  Sturm  und  Sonnenschein  in  vierzig  Jahren.     Gedichte.     New 
York  and  Newark,  1906,  p.  40. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  93 

Doch  im  Innern  tonet, 
Denkend  Dein  hinfort, 
Von  der  Lieb'  manch  Wort, 
Und  im  Geist  mein  Aug'  erschaut 
Stets  die  holde,  Hebe  Braut.141 

Kniep  expresses  the  opinion  that  modern  technics  and  machines 
do  not  crush  man's  better  qualities,  and  that  steam  and  electricity 
serve  only  the  rich,  but  he  adds  that  financial  power  is  frequently 
misused  so  that  the  struggling  masses  do  not  get  their  just  dues  of 
the  abundance  and  splendor  of  modern  life. 

Kniep's  idea  of  art  is  that  it  must  serve  the  times  and  elevate 
mankind.  In  Mahnung  he  maintains : 

Der  Kiinstler,  er  schwebt  nicht  am  Himmelszelt, 
Ein  Anrecht  hat  auch  an  ihn  die  Welt, 
Und  will  die  Kunst  in  der  Welt  gedeihen, 
So  muss  sie  sich  freundig  der  Menschheit  weihen. 
Die  neue  Zeit  braucht  neues  Lied, 
Ein  Lied  voll  Kampfeslust, 
Das  Jeden  machtig  vorwarts  zieht; 
Des  werdet  Euch  bewusst ! 

Und  wenn  Ihr  nicht  begreift  die  Zeit, 
Wie  soil  sie  Euch  versteh'n? 
Dann  wird  mit  andrer  Herrlichkeit 
Auch  Eure  Kunst  vergeh'n.141 

Among  the  collections  of  poems  that  have  come  to  the  writer's 
notice  is  J.  A.  Kunkel's  Gedichte  (New  York,  1856),  which  relate 
chiefly  to  the  political  struggles  going  on  in  Germany  during  the 
forties  and  fifties.  The  themes  treated  are  similar  to  those  already 
discussed.  The  following  stanzas  quoted  from  longer  poems  will 
serve  as  illustrations : 

Die  Bettlerin  (1852). 
Sieh  die  Arme,  deren  Haupt 
Gram  und  Hunger  friih  gebleicht, 
Wie  sie  wankend  dort  am  Stab 
Um  des  Reichen  Wohnung  schleicht. 

Der  Proletaries  1847 — Ein  Bild  aus  Deutschland. 
Langsam  wankt  durch  die  Strassen 


1  Ibid.,  p.  41  and  p.  108. 
142  For  complete  title  see  the  bibliography. 


94  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Keuchend  unter  schwerer  Last 
Dort  ein  armer  Proletarier 
Der  nicht  einmal  Zeit  zur  Rast. 

Auswanderer  (1852). 

Was  zieh'n  die  Menschen  so  schweigend  furbass, 
Die  Blicke  so  duster,  das  Auge  so  nass, 
Die  Haupter  gesenkt  zur  Erde  ? 
Sie  fiihren  auf  Wagen  in  diirftigem  Schrein 
Nur  wenige  Habe  und  Kinder  so  klein, 
Sie  scheiden  vom  heimischen  Heerde. 
********** 

Und  wenn  sie  die  Kiiste  des  Landes  dann  seh'n 
Wo  einzig  die  Banner  der  Freiheit  noch  weh'n, 
Dann  f  iihlen  die  Brust  sie  gehoben ; 
Sie  fiihlen  vom  Druck  des  Tyrannen  sich  f rei, 
Sie  fiihlen  die  Wiirde  des  Menschen  aufs  neu', 
Und  blicken,  Gott  dankend,  nach  oben. 

The  titles  of  some  of  the  other  poems  in  this  collection  will 
suffice  to  indicate  their  character — Freiheit  und  Gleichheit  (1848), 
Robert  Blum  (Dec.  1848),  Proletarier  und  Arbeiter  (1853),  Der 
Reiche  (1852),  Der  Arbeiter. 

Carl  Reuber,  a  poetically  inclined  workingman  of  Pittsburgh, 
collected  and  published  a  small  volume  of  socialistic  verse  (Pitts 
burgh,  1872),  under  the  title  of  Gedanken  iiber  die  neue  Zeit.  It 
contains  poems  originally  appearing  in  Die  Zukunft  (Indianapolis), 
Pittsburgh  VolksUatt,  and  Pittsburgh  Freiheitsfreund.  They  are 
of  little  merit  and  their  value  consists  in  giving  a  picture  of  con 
temporaneous  conditions  of  society. 

Two  other  small  volumes  of  poems  relating  to  the  labor  question 
are  Franz  Schlegl's  Feier  Stunden,  Gedichte  furs  arbeitende  Volk, 
and  Sturmglocken.  Sonette  (Philadelphia,  1880)  by  Lina  Mater 
(pseud.  A.  Lamartine).  Alex.  Henninger  published  Arbeit  und 
Fortschritt.  Bin  Gedicht  uber  soziale  Reform  at  San  Francisco  in 
1870.  The  fourth  edition  of  Theodore  Bracklow's  Die  Erscheinung, 
Episches  Zeitgedicht  appeared  at  New  York  in  1854.  Dr.  E.  J. 
Lowenthal's  tragedy,  Robert  Blum,  was  put  out  in  the  same  city  in 
1886. 

Quite  a  number  of  occasional  poems  have  been  printed  for 
special  gatherings  or  meetings  in  labor  circles;  these  appeared  on 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  95 

programs,  posters,  calendars,  and  in  periodicals.  An  examination  of 
the  files  of  Socialist  newspapers  of  recent  times  reveals  many  re 
prints  taken  from  German  collections  of  socialistic  verse,  such 
as  Strodtmanns  Arbeiterdichtung  in  Frankreich;  Vorwarts!  Bine 
Sammlung  von  Gedichten  fur  das  arbeitende  Volk;  and  Stimmen  der 
Freiheit.1*2  Besides  other  poems  often  by  obscure  or  nameless 
authors  occur  constantly.  To  illustrate :  there  appeared  in  the  Volks- 
stimme  des  Western  (St.  Louis),  from  September  i,  1877,  to  May  26, 
1878  poems  by  Hugo  Schlag,  Eduard  Bertz,  R.  Sauer,  Brachvogel, 
Fr.  von  Sallet,  Minna  Kleeberg,  Wighart  Karl,  Ludwig  Kalisch, 
Johann  Ziegler,  Karl  Schramm,  J.  A.  Mayer,  Paul  Lossau,  A.  Otto- 
Walster,  Adolf  Strodtmann,  Hiils,  Fr.  Riickert,  Herwegh,  Prutz, 
Jakob  Audorf.  Poems  from  exchanges  are  reprinted  occasionally. 
The  St.  Louis  Tageblatt  during  May,  1888,  contained  poems  by 
Hieronimus  Lorm,  Franz  Keim,  Wilhelm  Wiesberg,  Otto  Wolf,  and 
Freiligrath.  In  the  Arbeit er  Zeitung  (St.  Louis)  from  August,  1898, 
to  September,  1900,  appeared  poems  by  Hedwig  Vogel,  Jakob  Au 
dorf,  H.  E.  Lange,  Adolf  Glassbrenner,  Emilie  Hoffman,  Fr.  Boden- 
stedt,  Max  Kegel,  Herman  Glauch,  Joseph  Schiller,  Andreas  Scheu, 
Leopold  Jacoby,  Bertha  Schrottenloher,  Robert  Seidel,  Ada  Negri, 
A.  F.  Sterger,  Hr.  Binder,  Wm.  Benignus,  Anzengruber,  Hr.  Bartel, 
and  Georg  Herwegh  who  of  all  is  reprinted  most  frequently.  Prac 
tically  all  of  the  poetry  is  of  a  distinctly  socialistic  character.  Mrs. 
Mathilde  Sorge,  for  instance,  addresses  Das  schlafende  Proletariat: 

Wacht  auf  !   Nicht  ist  zum  Schlafen  Zeit. 
Arbeiter  wacht !   Zieht  in  den  Streit. 
Fur  Freiheit,  euer  menschlich  Recht ! 
Arbeiter,  seid  ein  frei'  Geschlecht! 

Frei  sei,  was  tragt  ein  menschlich  Herz ! 
Frei  sei,  wer  f  uhlt  der  Armuth  Schmerz ! 
Wars  auch  zum  Tod — 
Kampft  fur  die  Fahne  roth! 

Another   favorite  type  of  poem  is  Die  Diebe}  Heinesque  in 
character : 

Da  war  einmal  ein  kleiner  Dieb, 
Der  stahl  ein  Brot  dem  Kind  zu  lieb, 


96  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature    •. 

Und  wurde  schier  gefangen 
Und  konnte  erst  in  Jahr  und  Stund, 
Trotz  sein  und  seines  Weibes  Mund 
Die  Freiheit  wieder  erlangen. 

Dem  Andern  war's  Gliick  auch  nicht  hold, 

Stahl  einen  filznen  Sack  mit  Gold 

Durch  Einbruch,  still  und  nachtens ; 

Und  eh'  noch  ein  halb  Jahr  verging, 

Er  am  Gevatter  Dreibein  hing 

Und  das  von  wegen  Rechtens. 

Der  Dritte  war  ein  grosser  Dieb, 
Der  stahl  sich  ganz  allein  zu  lieb 
Des  Volkes  Geld  und  Rechte. 
Die  Countyvater  obendrein, 
Die  thaten  ein  willig  Ohr  ihm  leihn, 
Und  dienten  ihm  wie  Knechte. 

Nun  weiss  ich  doch  wahrhaftig  nicht, 
Wie  solch  ein  dummes  Ding  geschieht, 
Und  musste  doch  vermeinen, 
Dass  wenn  euch  Gott  das  Urtheil  lenkt, 
Der  dritte  Dieb  viel  hoher  hangt, 
Als  wie  die  beiden  Kleinen.143 

Among  the  more  modern  German  American  writers  who  show  a 
decided  social  conscience  is  Eduard  Dorsch,  a  native  of  Wiirzburg, 
who  was  driven  over  the  ocean  by  the  political  storms  of  1848. 

Ich  will  dir  auch  sagen,  was  mich  vertrieb; 
Ich  hatte  die  Heimath  so  lieb,  so  lieb, 
Und  wollte  sie  gliicklich  sehen ; 
Ich  habe  geschrieben  manch  ernstes  Wort, 
Ich  sprach:     "Jagt  eure  Drohnen  fort!" 
Da  war  es  um  mich  geschehen.144 

He  had  studied  medicine  at  Munich  and  Vienna  where  he  spent  the 
life  of  a  typical  German  student.  Many  of  these  experiences  are 
reflected  in  Aus  mussigen  Stund  en  eines  Munchener  Student  en 
(1844).  After  his  arrival  he  became  a  newspaper  correspondent  in 
New  York  but  finally  settled  down  to  practice  medicine  at  Monroe, 
Michigan.  At  various  times  he  contributed  to  the  Europa,  Grenz- 


143  Volksstimme  des  Wesiens,  Sept.  3,  1877. 

144  Gedichte,  p.  53. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  97 

hot  en,  and  Brockhaus  Literaturblatt,  and  the  Sunday  edition  of  the 
Illinois  Staatsseitung.  He  was  especially  conspicuous  for  his  ardent 
championing  of  radical  free  thought.  Moreover,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  the  presidential  campaigns  of  1856  and  1860. 

His  poems,  Aus  der  Alien  und  Neuen  Welt,  were  published  at 
New  York  in  1884.  They  reflect  the  author's  conception  of  the 
political  and  economic  conditions  of  the  times.  Some  of  them  are 
genuine  lyrics  and  the  variety  of  poetical  forms  employed  is  worthy 
of  note. 

Already  as  a  student  he  sympathized  with  the  nameless  poor. 
As  he  sees  the  candle  light  flickering  near  the  deathbed  of  the  poor 
he  whispers : 

Leise,  leise  meine  Lieder!  lasst  ihn  still  von  hinnen  gehn. 
Lasst  ihn  sterben,  wie  er  lebte,  einsam,  arm  und  unbekannt, 
Dass  vor  Hunger  er  gestorben,  Christenliebe  wird's  genannt  ;145 

A  vivid  presentation  of  the  contrast  between  the  predatory  rich  and 
the  suffering  poor  is  made  in  the  Ghasele  I: 

Der  Reiche  trinkt  aus  goldenen  Geschirren 
Den  strafenden  Gewissensbiss  zu  kirren ; 

Der  Arme  trinkt  aus  irdenem  Gefasse 
Die  eignen  Thranen,  bitt'rer  noch  als  Myrrhen. 

Der  Reiche  lauscht  in  strahlenden  Gemachern 
Auf  seiner  Courtisanen  susses  Girren, 

Der  Arme  ringt  auf  hartem  Kerkerlager 
Umsonst  nach  Schlaf  bei  lautem  Kettenklirren.145 


In  Im  Urwald  the  poet  has  escaped  the  strict  European  censor,  and 
there  he  need  not  help  to  feed  the  drones  of  Old  World  society.  In 
the  primeval  forest  the  man  of  the  world  can  find  a  quiet  refuge 
from  shallow,  showy  society. 

The  poem,  Zwei  Liebende,  gives  an  account  of  the  tragic  death 
of  two  lovers  driven  by  force  of  circumstances  to  end  their  own  lives. 

Dorsch's  satire  reaches  its  climax  in  his  Parabasen  published  at 
Milwaukee  in  1875  which  are  most  caustic  in  their  criticism  of 
modern  society.  The  underlying  charge  is  that  priestcraft  comes 


'Gedichte,  pp.  15  and  27. 

7 


98  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

very  near  being  the  root  of  all  evil.  In  each  of  the  twelve  parts  of 
the  poem  the  poet  takes  a  thrust  at  some  evil  of  society.  For 
example,  a  farmer  spending  an  idyllic  existence  next  to  nature  moves 
to  the  city  where  he  and  his  family  are  exposed  to  poverty,  disease, 
and  crime  and  finally  all  succumb.  A  frivolous  society  woman 
whose  lack  of  personal  beauty  is  atoned  for  by  the  skillful  use  of 
drug  store  preparations  succeeds  in  cajoling  a  man  into  marriage. 

Wie  kann  der  hohle,  reiche  Tropf,  auf  den  sie's  abgesehen, 
Den  Reizen,  acht  theils,  theils  geborgt,  noch  langer  widerstehen. 

She  spends  her  husband's  money  at  Paris  and  Newport  but  fails  to 
do  her  social  duty  of  rearing  children.  Part  four  harks  back  to 
German  conditions  when  the  poor  peasant  was  forced  to  leave  on 
account  of  excessive  taxes.  The  conflict  of  science  and  religion 
looms  forth  vividly  time  and  time  again.  He  satirizes  the  relic 
hunter  and  antiquarians  in  general.  After  he  dreamed  that  he  be 
held  flawless  Grecian  models  of  men  and  women  in  heaven,  he  longs 
for  the  realistic ;  even  a  wart  or  a  red  nose  would  relieve  the  strain. 
The  machine  has  increased  the  production  of  manufactured  articles 
but  poverty  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  factory  system.  The  growth 
of  cities  has  bred  poverty,  crime,  and  disease,  and  as  in  Aristophanes' 
times  the  executers  of  the  law  are  not  doing  their  duty.  "Biirger- 
tugend"  is  lacking  and  money  reigns  supreme.  The  whole  book  is 
a  rather  vigorous  indictment  of  the  present  system,  and  invariably 
the  author  comes  back  to  his  thesis  that  the  Christian  church  has 
failed  to  perform  its  mission. 

Of  a  different  temperament  was  the  humorist,  Otto  Bretthauer 
(1832-1882),  who  was  like  Dorsch  also  a  native  of  Bavaria.  After 
the  Revolution  he  fled  to  New  York  where  he  struggled  with  poverty 
as  a  newspaper  correspondent  and  editor.  With  Max  Cohnheim  in 
1858  he  established  the  Newyorker  Humorist,  a  veritable  thesaurus 
of  wit  and  humor,  which,  however,  was  soon  discontinued.  Brett- 
hauer's  writings  are  characterized  primarily  by  a  touch  of  genuine 
humor,  as  is  shown  in  the  little  volume,  Ernstes  und  Launiges. 
Lieder  und  Zeitgedichte,  Satyren  und  Epigramme  published  at  New 
York  in  1880.  Some  of  the  author's  own  experiences  were,  prob- 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  99 

ably,  related  to  those  suggested  in  the  poem  Weihnachten  (p.  34)  or 
in  Sylvesternacht  (p.  35).  The  contrast  of  rich  and  poor  is  brought 
out  in  the  latter : 

Da  liegt  mein  Kind  an  welker  Brust, 
Ich  kann  es  kaum  erwaermen  — 
O  Gott,  wann  wird  zu  Ende  sein 
Dies  Leiden  und  dies  Haermen? 
Mein  Aelt'ster  kauert  in  der  Eck' 
Und  nagt  an  einer  Kruste, 
Die,  barfuss  wankend  durch  den  Schnee, 
Er  sich  zu  holen  wusste. 

Er  fragt  mich,  was  denn  die  Musik 
Im  Ballsaal  dort  bedeute ; 
Es  ist  Sylvesternacht — o  Gott, 
Mir  klingt's  wie  Grabgelaute. 

In  1878  on  the  occasion  of  a  strike  he  wrote  Zwanzigtausend 
Dollars  Salair  ^Q  a  jibe  at  the  statement  that  a  family  of  six  can  live 
on  a  dollar  a  day : 

Als  Beecher  vernahm,  der  Ehrenmann, 
Vom  blutigen  "Strike"  die  Mahr', 
Da  stieg  er  auf  die  Kanzel  und  sprach 
Von  Lohnen  und  Salair. 

"Ein  Dollar  per  Tag  f  iir  die  Deinen  und  Dich 
Geniigt — was  willst  Du  noch  mehr? 
Ihr  seht  doch,  dass  ich  zufrieden  bin — 
Bei  Zwanzigtausend  Salair. 


Das  Gliick  des  Genusses,  dummes  Volk, 
Es  ist  nur  imaginar. 
Entsagung  gewahrt  das  wahre  Gliick — 
Bei  Zwanzigtausend  Salair. 

The  break  in  thought  at  the  end  of  the  third  line  and  the  repetition 
of  the  fourth  line  is  quite  humorous  but  nevertheless  telling.147 


148  Ernstes  und  Launiges,  p.  55  ff. 

147 An  interesting  and  humorous  "Kulturbild"  is  presented  in  C.  H. 
Schmolze's  travesty  on  Goethe's  Faust,  in  which  appear  besides  Faust  and  his 
Famulus,  a  "Kramergeist"  and  the  German  Michel.  In  staging  it  F.  Moras, 
who  took  the  part  of  the  Kramergeist,  was  dressed  to  represent  a  huge 
money-bag;  even  his  feet  represented  money-bags. — Cf.  Kneipzeitung  der 
Namenlosen,  a  Ms.,  also  Mitteilungen  des  Deutschen  Pionier-Vereins  von 
Philadelphia,  1907,  Drittes  Heft. 


ioo  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Numerous  other  poems  that  reflect  the  social  conscience  of  their 
authors  have  come  to  the  writer's  notice.  Almost  invariably  the 
ruthless  transplanting  from  the  German  to  the  American  soil  gave 
rise  to  this  point  of  view  which  was  usually  also  intensified  by  the 
subsequent  struggle  for  a  livelihood.  Such  poems  are  Auswanderers 
Schicksal  by  Julius  Dresel  (1816-91),  Fabrikarbeiter  by  F.  O. 
Dresel  (1824-81),  Ein  Kunsterlos  by  Paul  Carus  (1852 — ),  and  Ein 
gefallenes  Mddchen  and  Der  Landstreicher  by  Konrad  Krez  (1828- 
1897).  Karl  Schramm  and  J.  H.  Wiedemann  wrote  considerable 
socialistic  verse  for  contemporaneous  newspapers. 

The  journalist,  Heinrich  Binder,  has  not  forgotten  the  stormy 
days  of  1848  in  his  Liederklange  aus  vier  Jahrzehnten  (1895).  He 
resents  also  the  accusation  that  America  is  an  unpoetical  country  in 
the  poem,  Amerikanische  Poesie,  for  he  says : 

Die  (poetry)  spricht  aus  dem  Maschinenrad, 

Aus  jeder  Esse  Gluth, 
Aus  jedem  Kessel,  der  da  spriiht 

Auf  sturmbewegter  Fluth.148 

Boldly  he  accuses  the  magnate  who  forgets  the  human  element  con 
cerned  in  business: 

Fruchtlos  ist  der  Heloten  Ringen: 

Der  "Trust"  bleibt  Herr !  Vergeblich  dringen 

Auf  Schutz  sie  bei  dem  Gouverneur; 
Ob,  dass  man  ihrer  nicht  vergesse, 
Fur  sie  auch  nimmt  Partei  die  Presse, 

Die  Armen  finden  nicht  Gehor.148 

Drei  Epochen,  Kennst  du  den  Mann?   and  Ein  gutgemeint  Weih- 
nachtslied  treat  similar  questions.148 

The  materialistic  philosophy  popularized  by  the  Hegelians  and 
especially  by  Ludwig  Biichner's  Kraft  und  Stoff  among  Germans 
in  America  is  reflected  in  Emil  Dietzsch's  Kraft  und  Stoff  (1884), 
a  volume  of  poetry,  sketching  with  bold  sweeps  of  the  pen  various 
episodes  in  the  political  and  economic  history  of  the  Germanic  race 
from  primitive  times  to  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of 
Chicago  in  1883 — all  within  the  confines  of  196  pages.  To  Dietzsch 


Liederklange,  pp.  24,  77,  80,  88,  and  94. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  101 

America  is  the  land  of  freedom  where  the  labors  of  the  poor  are 
frequently  royally  rewarded.149 

Karl  Peter,  W.  O.  Soubron,  and  Edmund  'Marklin  incline  to  the 
socialistic  interpretation  of  modern  society.  The  collected  works  of 
Peter  who  was  a  decided  radical  were  published  at  Milwaukee  in 
1887.  Soubron  who  lives  at  Milwaukee  exhibits  similar  tendencies. 
Some  of  his  ideas  concerning  a  more  harmonious  adjustment  of 
modern  society  are  revealed  in  the  poem,  Das  neue  Lied.150  Marklin 
was  personally  acquainted  with  Uhland,  Schwab,  Morike,  and  other 
Suabian  poets.  After  the  Revolutions  of  1848  and  1849  he  fled  to 
Switzerland  where  he  met  Herwegh  and  the  Socialist  Moritz  Hess. 
Subsequently  he  was  confined  eighteen  months  in  prison  at  the 
Hohenasperg  where  Wilhelm  Rapp  was  also  incarcerated  at  that 
time.  In  1852  he  arrived  in  America  where  later  at  Milwaukee 
together  with  Heinrich  Loose  he  published  a  radical  and  a  labor 
paper.  A  second  edition  of  his  poems,  Im  Strome  der  Zeit,  appeared 
at  Milwaukee  in  1886. 

Among  the  temporary  residents  who  disseminated  German 
socialistic  ideas  in  America  were  Leopold  Jacoby,  Julius  Frobel, 
Maurice  Reinhold  von  Stern,  A.  C.  Wiesner,  Hedwig-Wilhelmi ; 
and  others.  Jacoby  (184095),  an  author,  traveller,  scientist,  and 
philosopher,  lived  in  America  during  the  early  eighties.  He  was  an 
ardent  advocate  of  socialist  principles,  for  he  believed : 

Alle  Menschen  sind  erhoben, 
Und  sie  werden  alle  gleich 
Nicht  nach  unten ;    nein,  nach  oben 
In  dem  neuen  Weltenreich.151 

One  of  his  most  popular  works  was  the  collection  of  verse, 
Es  werde  Licht  which  had  already  reached  its  fourth  edition  in 
1893.  March  19,  1883  he  was  present  at  the  celebration  in  Cooper 
Institute,  New  York,  given  in  honor  of  Karl  Marx  who  had  died 
five  days  before.  For  this  occasion  he  wrote  a  poem  eulogizing 


"9Dietzsch,  Kraft  und  Stoff,  p.  167. 

350  Stimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  167.  Cf.  also  Deutsch-Athen  (verse  a  la 
Heine)  in  Turner-Kalender,  1896,  p.  60  ff.,  and  Der  Farmerbursch  in  Turner- 
Kalender,  1890,  p.  42  f. 

151  Stimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  153. 


IO2  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

the  father  of  modern  Socialism.152  Frobel  (1805-93),  a  nephew  of 
the  great  educator  of  like  name,  was  connected  with  various  pub 
lishing  ventures  in  Germany  espousing  the  liberal  cause  until  he 
and  Robert  Blum  were  condemned  to  die  in  1848,  but  the  former 
was  pardoned.  From  1849  to  I^55  he  was  in  America  connected 
with  a  soap  factory,  trade  expeditions  and  newspapers.  In  his  Sys 
tem  der  sozialen  Politik  ( 1847)  he  tried  to  put  Socialism  on  a  scienti 
fic  basis,  however  later  experiences  estranged  him  from  Socialism.163 
A.  C,  Wiesner  (1824-  ),  an  Austrian  army  officer,  became  too  free 
in  expressing  his  views  in  1848  and  had  to  flee.  He  spent  part  of 
his  time  travelling  over  the  United  States  but  returned  to  Europe. 
His  Psalmen  eines  Verbannten  (1849)  were  quite  popular  among 
his  countrymen  of  similar  sympathies  in  this  country. 
,..,  Maurice  Reinhold  von  Stern  who  formerly  exhibited  a  decided 
socialistic  strain  spent  five  years  (1880-85)  in  and  around  New 
York  where  he  worked  for  some  time  as  a  dock  laborer,  clerk,  miner, 
and  iron-mill  worker.  Later  he  became  a  newspaper  reporter  and 
founded  the  New  Jersey  Arbeiter  Zeitung.  Upon  his  return  to 
Europe  in  1885  he  published  Proletarier  Lieder,  Gesammelte  Dich- 
tnngen,  dem  arbeitenden  Volke  gewidmet.  Among  his  other  numer 
ous  works  is  Von  jenseits  des  Meeres,  Amerikanische  Skizzen  (Glar- 
us,  1890).  Modern  conditions  are  reflected  in  such  poems  as 
Nahmadel: 

Ich  bin  'ne  kleine  Nahmamsell 
Und  morgens  muss  ich  ins  Geschaft, 
Oft  schon,  wenn  kaum  am  Himmel  hell 
Der  Tag  die  Lichtgardinen  refft. 

Dann  steh'  ich  vor  den  Spiegel  hin 
Und  kamm,  und  bind'  mein  blondes  Haar, 
Und  denk'  dabei  in  meinem  Sinn, 
Wie  sonnenarm  ich  immer  war.154 

Josef  Schiller  of  Reichenberg  was  active  for  twenty-seven  years 
as  a  labor  agitator  in  Austria  spreading  broadcast  his  thoughts  and 


152  Stimmen  der  Preiheii,  p.  148. 

153  The    noted    political    economist,    Friedrich    List    (1789-1846),    was    in 
American  from  1825  to  1830  and  later  returned  for  another  stay.     Many  of 
his  theories  are  realized  in  the  Germany  of  to-day. 

154  Lieder  aus  dem  Zaubert'hal,  Leipzig,  1905,  p.  41. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  103 

sentiments  with  word  and  pen,  in  prose  and  poetry,  until  an  enraged 
censorship  in  1896  drove  him  to  America  where  he  died  the  next 
year  in  abject  poverty  at  Germania,  Pennsylvania.  He  corresponded 
with  Robert  Reitzel,  and  contributed  to  the  Cleveland  Volksanwalt, 
Buffalo  Arbeiterseitung,  and  other  papers.155 

Among  the  women  who  have  disseminated  liberal  ideas  in  Amer 
ica  are  Hedwig  Henrich-Wilhelmi,  Johanna  Greie,  Emma  Goldman, 
and  Mrs.  Neymann  and  Aveling. 

In  a  certain  sense  Konrad  Nies  who  was  born  at  Alzey  in 
Rheinhessen  in  1862  may  be  said  to  represent  in  his  Funken  (1891) 
the  transition  to  a  more  modern  German  American  poetry.  Amalia 
von  Ende  calls  him  "a  link  between  the  Old  and  the  New,  a  man  of 
firm  adherence  to  established  aesthetic  creeds,  but  by  no  means  in 
sensible  to  the  voice  of  the  Zeitgeist"  and  the  foremost  poet  of  Ger 
man  America  to-day.156  Nies  is  a  poet,  actor,  teacher,  journalist, 
and  traveller  who  came  to  America  in  1883.  In  his  poems,  Funken, 
he  gives  expression  to  the  usual  themes  of  home-sickness  arid  the 
plight  of  the  German  poet  in  America,  but  also  he  portrays  the  ruth 
less  sweep  of  the  modern  industrial  machine  over  the  romance  of 
the  past. 

The  poems,  Heute  and  Auf  der  Fahrt,  and  the  sonnet,  I'm  Bonn 
der  Hnge,  portray  vividly  the  changes  that  modern  life  has  wrought. 
The  last  division  of  Funken,  entitled  Fruhrot,  is  prefaced  with  a 
motto  from  Karl  Bleibtreu:  "Die  Ahnung  einer  neuen  Zeit  durch- 
zuckt  den  Schoss  des  Alls."  Nies  calls  on  the  idle  romantic  dreamer 
and  the  anachronistic  conservatist  to  awaken  from  the  past  and  to 
realize  the  new  social  duties  incident  to  modern  progress  that  de 
volve  upon  them.  The  social  conscience  of  the  poet  has  been  awak 
ened.  Mindful  of  the  misery  of  the  masses  he  has  the  wind  say : 

Fiill'  mit  deinem  Wein  den  Becher  f risch ! 
Speis  und  Trank  beut  taglich  dir  dein  Tisch. 
Brotlos  aber  hungern,  darben,  schmachten 
Tausend,  Tausend  in  des  Elends  Schachten — 
Nur  der  Abfall  von  der  Uebersatten 


155  Stimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  107  ff.  and  p.  416  for  a  poem  on  Schiller  by 
Henrich  Bartel. 

156  Poet  Lore,  Autumn  number,   1906,  p.   113.     Cf.  also  Das  literarische. 
Echo,  May  15,  1899,  I,  097-1003. 


IO4  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Uepp'gem  Mahl, 

Nahm'  von  tausend  Siechen,  Hungersmatten 

Bittre  Qual.157 

His  heart  goes  out  to  the  ostracized  of  society  as  is  shown  in 
the  sonnet,  Ein  Begrdbnis: 


Und  Keiner  weiss,  dass  hier  ein  Herz  begraben, 
Das  einst  an  hohen  Idealen  reich, 
Dem  Schonen  schlug  unendlich  liebeweich, 

Bevor  die  Welt  ihm  seinen  Gott  verdarb 
Und  es  am  Wege  schuldzerdriickt  erstarb. — 
Die  Blatter  fallen,  und  es  schrei'n  die  Raben. — 157 

In  his  latest  volume  of  poems,  Aus  westlichen  Welten  (1905) 
Nies  sings,  for  the  most  part,  of  his  travels  in  search  for  health,  al 
though  in  Frau  Illusion  he  approaches  again  the  milieu  of  metro 
politan  life.  On  the  whole  NJes'  poems  avoid  the  prosaically  di 
dactic. 

This  element  stands  out  clearly  again  in  many  of  the  poems 
written  by  Heinrich  C.  Lange  who  was  born  at  Hausberge  on  the 
Weser  in  1842.  He  emigrated  in  1868  and  settled  at  St.  Louis.  His 
poems,  Feld-  und  Wiesenblumen  appear  at  St.  Louis  in  three 
volumes,  the  first  and  second  in  1898  and  the  third  in  1902.  The 
greater  part  of  them  do  not  pertain  to  the  social  and  economic  ques 
tions  of  the  day.  Socialistic  are :  Der  Handwerker  in  der  Neuzeit, 
Was  wollen  sief  Bine  verzweijelte  That,  Die  oberen  Zehntausend, 
Zukunft  und  Gegenwart,  Der  Strassenbahn-Ausstand,  Wetterleuch- 
ten,  Den  Socialist  en,  Den  Ruhebedurftigen,  and  Armut  und  Reich~ 
turn.  They  pertain  to  such  themes  as  the  industrial  revolution,  the 
despair  of  the  unemployed,  the  extravagance  of  the  predatory  rich, 
strikes,  the  intellectual  proletariat,  the  unfair  distribution  of  the 
world's  goods,  contrast  between  rich  and  poor,  and  the  like.  As  a 
cigar  maker  at  Leipzig  Lange  had  already  become  well  acquainted 
with  the  teachings  of  Liebknecht  and  Lassalle. 

When  F.  W.  Fritzsche's  Blut-rosen,  sozial-politische  Gedichte 
(2nd  ed.)  were  published  at  Baltimore  in  1890  Robert  Reitzel  said 


187  Funk  en,  pp.  181  and  137. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  105 

of  the  author:  "Der  Sohn  der  Armut,  Schiiler  der  Armenschule, 
Zigarrenmacher,  Freidenker  und  Sozialist,  Reichstagsabgeordnete 
und  Exilirte  weiss  ganz  gut  in  Tonen  zu  denken."158  This  in  brief 
characterizes  Fritzsche  who  was  born  in  Leipzig  in  1825,  lived 
through  the  storms  of  1848  and  1849,  organized  the  laborers  and 
later  represented  them  in  the  Reichstag.  In  1881  he  and  Louis 
Viereck  came  to  the  United  States  at  the  behest  of  the  German 
Social  Democratic  Party.  Subsequently  he  emigrated  to  Philadel 
phia  with  his  family  and  for  many  years  contributed  to  the  Tage- 
blatt.  He  died  in  Philadelphia  February  5,  igos.159 

Of  special  merit  in  the  Blut-Rosen  are  Das  Grab  am  Birken- 
baum,  Bin  Traum,  and  Mein  Vaterland.  In  the  last  named  poem 
he  says : 

Jetzt  trennt  ein  Meer  mich  von  der  Heimath  Boden, 
Doch  wehret  mir  das  Meer,  die  Feme  nicht, 
Zu  folgen  dem,  was  Sehnsucht  mir  geboten : 
"Du  darf st  es  nicht,  ob  auch  das  Herz  dir  bricht !" 
So  sprach  der  Bann,  der  mir  die  Heimath  raubte, 
Mich  mitleidsbar  in's  Elend  stiess, 
Weil  ich  an  Bruderlieb'  und  Gleichheit  glaubte, 
Den  Kampf  um  Gleichheit,  Recht  und  Freiheit  pries.160 

Heinrich  von  Ende,  a  journalist,  musician,  and  idealist  was  born 
at  Bremen  in  1847.  At  the  time  of  the  Commune  (1871)  he  was 
in  Paris  and  became  thoroughly  imbued  with  communistic  ideas 
which  fact  led  to  a  break  with  his  highly  aristocratic  family,  and 
in  the  next  year  he  left  for  America.  He  was  secretary  to  Ludwig 
Biichner  on  the  latter's  lecture  tour  in  this  country.  He  was  an 
active  free  thinker  and  Socialist  writing  articles  for  the  Freidenker 
and  Sozialist  of  Milwaukee,  and  later  he  became  editor  of  the  Ohio 
V olkszeitung,  a  Socialist  paper.  He  published  Gedichte  (1870), 
Des  Konigs  Freund  (1875),  and  Mississippi  und  Rhein  (1876),  a 
poem.  His  wife  Amalia  assisted  him  in  his  newspaper  work.  She 
has  published  Vier  Lieder  (1899),  Sonnets  of  the  City  and  other 
Poems  (1903),  and  many  articles  in  periodicals,  notably  those  in 


158  Der  arme  Teufel,  May  3,  1890. 

159  Cf.  Chapter  I  of  this  treatise;    Waltershausen,  p.  168  ff.,  and  the  intro 
duction  to  Blut-Rosen. 

180  Blut-Rosen,  p.  7. 


io6  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

the  New  York  Nation  and  Das  liter  arise  he  Echo.  The  poem  Gross- 
stadt  published  in  Neeff's  collection161  illustrates  modern  metro 
politan  life. 

Quite  a  number  of  lesser  lights  have  shown  a  tendency  to  re 
flect  economic  conditions  of  society.  Among  them  is  Hugo  Schlag 
(1838-86)  who  arrived  in  1868.  He  was  a  compositor  by  trade  who 
worked  in  different  cities  until  his  death  at  New  York.  Besides  con 
tributing  poems  to  the  newspapers  he  wrote  the  tragedy  Thomas 
Miinser.  Paul  Loebel  a  talented  and  idealistic  actor  who  played  in 
Chicago  and  other  cities  during  the  seventies  and  eighties,  and 
later  became  a  journalist  published  a  volume  of  poems  in  1879  at 
Chicago.  In  the  parody  on  the  Harfners  Lied  he  bewails  the  fate 
of  the  German  actor  in  America.162  He  finally  committed  suicide.163 
Heinrich  Bartel,  the  present  editor  of  the  Milwaukee  Vorw'drts  has 
contributed  many  poems  to  German  Socialist  papers.  A  collection 
of  sixteen  which  are  essentially  protests  against  certain  defects  of 
social  adjustments  were  published  in  Stimmen  der  Freiheit.  In  the 
style  of  the  folk-song  is  the  one  on  page  417: 

Ich  bin  ein  freier  Sangersmann, 
Hab  weder  Gut  noch  Geld, 
Mein  Reichtum  ist  mein  freier  Sinn, 
So  zieh  ich  durch  die  Welt. 

Und  wo  ich  freie  Menschen  seh, 

Da  halt  ich  kurze  Rast, 

Demi  wo  die  Freiheit  Wirtin  ist, 

Dort  bin  ich  gerne  Gast. 

******* 

So  zieh  ich  singend  durch  die  Welt 
Und  rufe  auf  zum  Streit, 
Ich  will  der  Freiheit  Lanzknecht  sein, 
Ein  Sohn  der  neuen  Zeit. 

Hermann  O.  Dreisel  (1869-1903),  a  native  of  Reichenbach, 
Saxony,  came  to  America  in  1884  where  he  spent  the  next  twelve 
years  struggling  for  a  livelihood  as  a  factory  worker  and  miner. 


Lande  des  Sternenbanners,  p.  40  f. 
162  Gedichte,  p.  15. 

163/ 


Quite  a  number  of  idealistic  German  American  journalists  either  met 
at  their  own  hands  or  became  mentally  unbalanced. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  107 

Later  he  became  a  teacher  at  Milwaukee  and  Chicago.  Both  he  and 
his  wife  met  an  untimely  death  in  the  Iroquois  Theater  fire  in  1903. 
His  Gesammelte  Schriften  consisting  of  prose  and  poetry  were  pub 
lished  at  Milwaukee  by  his  friends  in  1905.  Dreisel  defends  the 
rights  of  the  dispossessed  masses,  and  is  prone  to  portray  their 
squalor.  Karl  Reuter  Kerger  wrote  socialistic  verse  for  the  Turner- 
Kalender  and  Der  arme  Teufel.  John  Most  and  Julius  Vahlteich 
have  published  collections  of  stirring  songs  for  the  laborers;  while 
numerous  obscure  poets  have  written  new  words  to  old  popular 
melodies. 

Among  the  most  recent  versifiers  are  F.  G.  Bufe,  Friedrich 
Michel,  Julius  Zorn,  Emilie  Hofmann,  and  Anna  Nill.  Bufe,  a 
cigar-maker  by  trade,  was  born  at  Wechselburg,  Saxony,  and  emi 
grated  to  America  in  1884.  A  small  volume  of  his  poems,  Licht  und 
Schatten,  Diverse  Gedichte  was  published  at  Moline,  Illinois,  in 
1906.  In  simple  rhymes  he  treats  of  the  customary  themes  of  the 
social  reformer.  Typical  is  the  poem  Gegensatze  des  Lebens  in 
which  the  equipage  of  a  Mr.  Goldman  is  contrasted  with  the  busy 
life  of  a  widow  and  children  who  work  long  hours  in  a  factory.164 
Michel,  a  native  of  Alsace,  immigrated  in  1881  and  established  a 
ladies'  hat  business  which  he  still  superintends.  His  Asraklange, 
und  cmdere  Gedichte  (Strassburg,  1906)  treat  among  other  sub 
jects,  modern  inventions,  the  social  question,  and  the  duties  of 
woman.  Zorn  was  born  at  Pforzheim,  Baden,  in  1852,  and  came 
to  America  in  1874.  He  lives  at  Cincinnati,  and  is  quite  active  in 
the  Arbeiter  Sangerbund.  Some  of  his  verses  appeared  in  Stimmen 
der  Freiheit.  William  Benignus,  Paul  Wienand,  F.  H.  Lohmann, 
and  Hugo  Bertsch  have  shown  considerable  interest  in  social  prob 
lems.  Emilie  Hofmann  was  born  at  Liebenau  in  1844  and  emigrated 
to  America  about  1872.  Her  poems  which  betray  but  meager  poetic 
talent  appeared  in  various  Socialist  newspapers,  notably  those  of  St. 
Louis.  Anna  Nill  who  is  a  zealous  champion  of  the  proletarian 
cause  hails  from  Wurttemberg  and  lives  now  on  Long  Island.  She 
writes:  "Was  ich  bis  jetzt  geschrieben,  hat  der  Wind  in  die  weite 
Welt  getragen,  und  hat  auch  einiges  Wurzel  gefasst  zum  Wohle  der 


Stimmen  der  Freiheit,  p.  462. 


io8  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Menschheit,  und  meiner  Zufriedenheit.  *  *  *  Eigene  Biicher  liess 
ich  nie  drucken,  habe  ich  etwas  auf  dem  Herzen,  so  drucken's  die 
Zeitungen  gerne."165 

Hermann  Glauch,  a  printer  by  trade,  was  born  at  Dobeln,  Sax 
ony,  in  1855,  came  to  Cincinnati  in  1872,  and  soon  thereafter  went 
to  San  Francisco.  His  poems  appeared  in  the  German  papers  of 
Cincinnati  and  San  Francisco.  His  Gedichte  were  published  at 
Oakland,  California,  in  1897.  In  the  preface  to  this  book  he  reveals 
his  state  of  mind:  "Wahrend  ihm  (the  poet)  heute  das  Herz  auf- 
geht  in  Lust  und  Freude  beim  Anblick  der  Wunder  der  Natur,  im 
stillen  Frieden  des  Heimes  beim  Gliicke  seiner  Umgebung,  sieht 
er  morgen  das  krasse  Elend,  die  bitterste  Noth,  hort  den  Jammerruf 
der  Unglucklichen  und  Unterdriickten — "  This  statement  charac 
terizes  this  collection  of  poems.  Such  poems  as  Auswanderung,  Bin 
Landstreicher,  Ins  Armenhaus,  Moloch  Grossstadt,  Unsere  Zeit,  Ar- 
beitslos,  Handwerker  einst! — Was  jetzt — ?  are  mingled  with  others 
that  sing  the  beauty  of  nature,  home  and  love.  The  modern  milieu 
is  illustrated  in  Bin  Lebensbild  beginning : 

Feuerfunken  spriiht  der  Schlot 
Auf  zum  grauen  Firmamente, 
Blutigroth  die  Flamme  loht 
Tief  im  Grunde ;  ohne  Ende 
Dort  Cyclopen,  schwarz  berusst, 
Kaum  der  eignen  Macht  bewusst, 
Riihren  die  geschaft'gen  Hande.166 

Two  men  who  have  been  quite  active  in  the  circles  of  organized 
labor  and  have  written  extensively  in  its  behalf  are  George  Bieden- 
kapp  and  W.  L.  Rosenberg.  The  former  who  came  to  America  in 
1885  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  published  three  volumes  of  poetry,  one, 
Trost  in  Liedern  in  Germany,  and  Sankta  Libert  as  (1893)  and 
Brennende  Strophen  und  Lieder  (1900)  at  New  York.  Besides  he 
wrote  numerous  stories,  occasional  poems,  prologues,  and  songs 
which  were  published  chiefly  in  New  York  papers.  His  Der  Frei- 
heit  Hochgesang,  Das  freie  Wort,  Das  freie  Lied,  Das  Banner  hoch, 
and  Festgruss  are  often  sung  at  labor  gatherings.  Two  dramas,  in 


165  Letter  of  February  25,  1916. 
186  Gedichte,  p.  67. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  109 

manuscript,  Die  Sizilianerin  and  Die  von  Stachelwitz  were  per 
formed  with  great  success  before  a  workingmen's  audience.  Sev 
eral  collections  of  his  poems  are  still  unpublished.  He  still  con 
tributes  occasional  poems  to  German  Socialist  papers. 

Biedenkapp  is  quite  severe  almost  bitter  at  times  in  his  indict 
ment  of  the  predatory  rich.  He  likes  to  portray  the  misery  of  the 
'dispossessed'  and  the  extravagance  of  the  rich.  Typical  are  the 
following  two  stanzas  quoted  from  Die  Hungrigen  und  die  Satten: 

Hier  unnennbarer  Ueberfluss 

In  Villen  und  Palasten, 

Durchrauscht  von  Gliick  und  Hochgenuss 

Und  bachanal'schen  Festen. 

Dort  nied're  Hiitten,  morsch  und  klein, 
Dem  Sturze  nah,  zerfallend, 
Und  drinnen  Elend,  Not  und  Pein 
Dumpf  grasslich  widerhallend.167 

The  sweat  shop  he  portrays: 

Im  armlichen  Kleid — im  Martergewand — 
Zum  Tode  verblasst  und  betriiblich, 
So  sitzt  in  der  Hiitte  des  "Sklaven"  Weib, 
Hartschaffend  und — weinend,  wie's  iiblich. 

Die  Stirn  verwelket,  der  Blick  so  matt, 

Das  Antlitz,  ein  schmerzlich  Entbehren; 

Die  Nadel,  der  Faden,  kaum  gehn  sie  noch  durch, 

Als  wollten  dem  Elend  sie  wehren.167 

It  is  distinctly  a  poetry  of  protest  written  with  this  intention 
in  view.  In  the  execution  of  the  Chicago  anarchists  Biedenkapp 
sees  the  oppression  of  labor  by  capital  which  leads  him  to  prophesy 
the  coming  revolution  and  the  downfall  of  the  second  present  day 
Babylon.  The  capitalist  wallows  in  the  abundance  extorted  from 
the  laborers,  and  the  Gliickauf  of  the  miners  sounds  to  him  like  a 
cry  from  the  infernal  regions  below. 

The  social  conscience  of  W.  L.  Rosenberg  of  Cleveland  has 
likewise  been  thoroughly  awakened.  As  an  author  and  poet  he  has 


167  Sankta  Libertas,  pp.  30  and  71. 


no  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

been  a  constant  and  consistent  friend  of  the  toiler.  He  was  born 
at  Hamm,  Westphalia,  in  1850.  After  receiving  a  good  education 
he  became  a  teacher  of  Latin  and  French  at  Frankfort  on  the  Main, 
however,  his  articles  in  the  Neue  Welt  and  other  papers  aroused  the 
ire  of  the  censor  so  that  after  the  passage  of  the  anti-Socialist  laws 
he  left  in  1880  for  the  United  States.  After  teaching  a  while  at 
Boston  he  was  called  to  Chicago  to  edit  the  Fackel.  From  1884 
to  1890  he  was  at  New  York  working  in  the  interests  of  the  Socialist 
Labor  Party.  The  next  six  years  he  lived  at  Cincinnati  devoting 
himself  exclusively  to  literary  and  journalistic  work.  Since  1896  he 
has  been  engaged  in  the  same  line  of  work  at  Cleveland.  His  works 
include  Lieder  und  Gedichte  (1881),  Aus  dem  Reiche  des  Tantalus 
(1888),  a  series  of  eleven  sketches  portraying  typical  experiences  of 
the  unfortunate  poor,  Irrfahrten,  Bine  soziale  Lebensgeschichte 
(1880),  the  dramas,  Vor  der  Wahlschlacht  (1886),  Crumbleton 
(1898),  and  a  series  of  other  shorter  dramas  broaching  social  and 
political  questions.  Among  his  latest  books  are  An  der  Welten- 
wende  (1910)  and  Krieg  dem  Kriege,  Gedichte  (1915). 

Rosenberg's  productions  have  a  naturalistic  trend ;  they  present 
the  unaesthetic  sides  of  modern  society  as  well  as  the  deepest  yearn 
ings  of  the  human  heart.  To  him  truth  is  more  stirring  than  fiction. 
He  shows  great  sympathy  for  the  homeless,  the  oppressed,  for  all 
those  that  fail  to  fit  into  the  present  social  structure.  The  didactic 
element,  although  not  always  prominent,  is  clearly  discernable  in 
his  works.  Like  his  fellow-countryman,  Freiligrath,  he  writes  stir 
ring  socialistic  verse,  and  like  the  "Moderne"  he  tends  to  the  natur 
alistic  in  his  plays.  He  considers  the  Bourgeois  poets  antiquated 
and  applies  the  standard  of  historic  materialism  to  his  mode  of  think 
ing.  He  is  an  ardent  advocate  of  a  stage  for  the  laboring  classes 
and  some  of  his  dramas  were  written  with  this  purpose  in  view. 

An  der  Weltenwende  is,  doubtless,  his  most  pretentious  work. 
The  title  suggests  the  author's  point  of  view.  The  book  is  dedi 
cated  to  the  underdog : 

Ich  weiss  zwar,  dass  die  Welt  nicht  denkt, 
Noch  f  uhlt,  wie  ich  es  tu' ; 
Die  Welt  vom  Konig  bis  zum  Knecht 
1st  nicht  wie  ich  und  du. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  1 11 

Drum  schert's  mich  keinen  Deut  fiirwahr, 

Ob  sie  mich  unrecht  schilt; 

Im  Kampf  mein  Arm  dem  schwachern  Hund, 

Der  unten  liegt,  nur  gilt. 
******* 

Among  the  best  in  this  book  are  the  Trampphilosophien  and 
Aus  Per  rivals  Tagebuch;  in  the  former  is  the  beautiful  ballad: 

Wir  gingen  zu  Viert  auf  dem  Schienenstrang, 
Vier  Tramps,  die  eiserne  Strasse  entlang.168 

The  latter  begins  with  the  verses : 

Ich  weiss  nicht,  lieber  Vater, 
Warum  so  arm  wir  sind? 
Warum  die  Mutter  muss  kargen 
Und  leer  ist  Schrank  und  Spind  ? 

Giebt's  Butter  und  Brot  nicht  in  Piille, 
Und  Fleisch  und  Kleider  und  Schuh? 
Man  braucht  nur  gehen  und  holen. 
O,  Vater,  was  schweigst  du?169 

Robert  Reitzel,  the  famous  editor  of  Der  arme  Teufel,  is  often 
called  the  foremost  writer  of  German  prose  in  America.  He  was 
also  a  confirmed  critic  of  modern  social  evaluations  and  a  rebel  who 
strove  for  inner  freedom.  His  point  of  view  was  exceedingly  in 
dividualistic  and  he  gladly  gave  room  in  his  paper  to  the  dissatisfied 
Freethinker,  Socialist,  Anarchist,  Turner,  and  others  who  had  a 
jibe  to  take  at  the  formalist,  the  Gothamist,  and  the  Philistine. 

He  was  born  at  Weitenau,  Baden,  in  the  eventful  year  of  1849. 
On  the  night  of  his  birth  gendarmes  searched  the  Reitzel  home 
for  Georg  Uehlin,  an  uncle,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  Hecker  insur 
rection.  Robert  was  to  study  theology,  but  he  neglected  his  studies, 
and  read  the  romantic  poets,  sang,  drank,  fought  duels,  and  lived  the 
life  of  a  jovial  student  generally.  When  yet  a  youth  he  emigrated 
to  America,  where  he  led  a  wayfaring  life  for  a  time  until  assisted 
by  a  friend  he  got  a  position  as  pastor  of  a  German  Reformed 
church  in  Washington ;  however,  he  was  soon  dismissed  from  the 


188  An  der  Welienwende,  p.  102. 
169  An  der  Weltenwende,  p.  136  ff. 


Ii2  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

synod  on  account  of  his  heretical  ideas.  He  now  became  an  itin 
erant  lecturer,  speaking  to  Independent  Congregations,  Turner  so 
cieties,  and  radical  clubs.  During  this  time  he  read  much  of  Karl 
Heinzen,  Schunemann-Pott,  Strauss,  Feuerbach,  and  Karl  Vogt, 
and  became  a  warm  admirer  of  them.  To  this  study  and  propaganda 
he  added  social  problems,  and  the  principles  of  Socialism  and  An 
archism. 

In  Socialism  Reitzel  admired  not  its  science  and  system,  but  its 
revolutionary  influence  on  the  torpid  masses,  and  the  ensuing  stimu 
lus  and  stirring-up  of  the  mind  in  the  field  of  poetry  and  art.  He 
had  the  peculiar  gift  to  seek  out  what  was  original,  genuine,  and 
unconventional.  As  a  poet  he  remained  faithful  to  the  classicists, 
but  also  admired  Holz,  Henckell,  Parnizza,  Mackay,  Wille,  Hartle- 
ben,  Hauptmann,  and  Wedekind. 

His  poems  are  few  in  number;  a  number  are  published  in  the 
second  volume  of  his  collected  works.  The  socialistic  tendency  is 
quite  evident  as,  for  example,  in  An  das  Proletariat,  beginning: 

Als  Gott  sich  auf  sich  selber  besann, 
Da  schuf  er  die  Nobeln,  die  Arier, 
Als  er  zum  zweitenmale  begann, 
Da  wurden  es  Proletarier.170 

Reminiscent  of  the  Chicago  tragedy,  he  writes  in  the  "Tele- 
gramstyl" : 

Dem  Armen — Wein, 
Dem  Reichen — Tranen, 
Schluckt's  nur  hinein! 
Der  Stillen  Lieb'— 
Erfiilltes  Sehnen! 
Dem  Hunger — Brot, 
Dem  Geiz — den  Stein — 
O  konnt's  so  sein!*71 

In  addition  to  poems  of  a  socialistic  tendency  by  Reitzel  and 
others,  numerous  essays  of  this  character  appeared  in  Der  arme 
Teufel.  Some  of  these  were  reprinted  in  the  third  volume  of  Reit- 
zel's  collected  works. 


armen  Teufel  gesammelte  Schriften,  II,  17  ff. 
171  Ibid.,  I,  15  f. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  113 

After  Reitzel's  death  in  1898,  Martin  Derscher  continued  Der 
arme  Teufel  for  two  years,  when  it  stopped  publication.  Drescher 
took  up  the  spiritual  heritage  of  Reitzel,  but  he  lacks  the  latter's 
originality  and  Heinesque  wit.  Drescher  was  born  at  Wittstock  and 
came  to  America  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  where  he  also  had  to 
tramp  and  make  his  living  by  all  sorts  of  odd  jobs. 

Unstat  und  fliichtig  von  Land  zu  Land 

Bin  ich  durchs  Leben  gezogen, 

Ueber  sengenden  Wiistensand, 

Durch  des  Ozeans  schimmernde  Wogen.172 

At  present  he  is  engaged  in  journalistic  and  literary  work  at 
Chicago.  He  has  contributed  many  poems  to  contemporary  news 
papers,  but  his  fame  as  a  poet  rests  chiefly  on  his  Gedichte,  pub 
lished  at  Chicago  in  1909.  The  poems  are  printed  under  the  head 
ings:  Aus  der  Tiefe,  Wanderzeit,  Vom  grossen  Kampf,  Menschen 
und  Werke,  Sommerbriefe  aus  dem  Schlupfwinkel,  Tagebuchblatter, 
Aus  fremden  Garten,  and  Maria  Magdalena,  Bin  Schauspiel.  They 
are  the  expressions  of  some  of  the  emotions  resulting  from  experi 
ences  of  the  author  who  longs  for  the  beautiful,  yet  cannot  compre 
hend  how  the  enjoyment  of  the  beautiful  can  go  hand  in  hand  with 
an  impure  social  fiber. 

The  poet's  sympathy  goes  out  to  the  shelterless  lovers  by  the 
wayside,  the  deserving  poor,  the  outcasts  of  society,  the  homeless, 
the  married  couple  who  struggle  hard  to  establish  a  home,  and  the 
like.  Many  of  his  poems  have  a  tinge  of  sadness  and  but  few  are 
marred  by  didactic  preachments,  nevertheless  the  import  of  all  is 
unmistakable.  His  "Vaganten-Lieder"  are  among  the  best  that  the 
German  American  muse  has  produced.  He  portrays  the  joys  and 
sorrows  of  the  social  misfits : 

Durch  die  Strassen  der  Weltstadt  streift 
Langsam  ein  hagrer  Geselle. 
Ueber  die  glanzenden  Laden  schweift 
Lassig  sein  Auge,  das  helle. 

Gestern  noch  hundert  Meilen  fern, 
Hat  er  den  Frachtzug  erklommen, 


Gedichte,  p.  7. 


114  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

1st  er  im  Glauben  an  seinen  Stern 
Nach  Chicago  gekommen.173 

Vom  grossen  Kampf  has  to  do  with  burning  social  questions  of 
the  day,  as  child  labor,  the  unemployed,  love  and  marriage,  the  social 
evil,  capital  and  labor,  the  revolutionary  spirit  of  labor,  and  the 
contrast  of  rich  and  poor.  Drescher  is  distinctly  critical  in  his 
attitude  and  does  not  fail  to  see  the  dark  side.  He  rejoices  to  see 
a  crowd  of  children  on  the  street,  but  he  continues : 

Flicken  tragen  sie  alle  am  Kleid, 
Rechtes  Elendsgelichter. 
Und,  so  Jung  sie,  das  Herzleid 
Spricht  aus  dem  Grau  der  Gesichter. 

Was  ist  da  los  ?    Du  weisst  es  nicht  ? 
Warte,  dass  ich's  dir  sage: 
Diese  Kinder  halten  Gericht 
Ueber  die  Schmach  unsrer  Tage.174 

The  struggle  for  mere  bread  is  depicted  in  Bin  bischen  Brot,17* 
and  in  Alltagsgeschichte  he  pictures  the  happy  home : 

Die  Jahre  gingen.     Ein  Stuck  Sonnenschein 
Lag  auf  den  billig  eingekauften  Sachen. 
Durch  enge  Stiibchen,  schmuck  und  peinlich  rein, 
Klang  Vaters  Witz,  klang  helles  Kinderlachen. 
Und  wenn  ein  neuer  Zuwachs  zappelnd  schrie, 
Die  braune  Kathe  wusste  sich  geborgen. 
Sie  summte  keck  nach  eigner  Melodic: 
"Zwei  harte  Fauste  werden  weiter  sorgen."175 

But  the  unemployment  soon  brings  misery  and  care. 

Sometimes  the  poet  forgets  the  strife  of  the  day  and  becomes 
reminiscent  as  in  Sommerfest,  Nach  zwanzig  Jahren,  Mutter  ist  tot, 
Der  Ulmenbaum,  and  In  der  Fremde.  Among  the  poets  he  ad 
dresses  in  poems  are  Poe,  Reitzel,  Wilhelm  Busch,  F.  T.  Vischer, 
Liliencron,  Edna  Fern,  and  Konrad  Nies. 

Drescher  employs  various  strophic  forms  but  he  shows  a  prefer 
ence  for  the  sonnet  of  which  seventy-four  occur  in  his  Gedichte. 


173  Gedichte,  p.  48  f . 

174  Gedichte,  pp.  72,  and  78. 

175  Gedichte,  p.  90. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  115 

The  strophe  of  the  folk  song  and  the  rhymed  couplet  are  also  fa 
vorites. 

Closely  associated  with  Reitzel  and  Drescher  as  writers  are 
Edna  Fern  (Mrs.  Fernande  Richter)  and  Hedwig  Vogel.  The 
former  has  published  short  stories,  Marchen,  and  poems  in  which 
she  veils  her  ideas  of  life  and  love.  In  her  sketches  she  inclines 
toward  naturalism.  Her  poems  usually  have  nature  as  a  back 
ground  : 

Doch  die  Wolken  hoch  am  Himmel 

Kummert  nicht  der  Vogelschrei,  (of  "Tendenz") 

Und  der  lieben,  goldnen  Sonne 

1st  Tendenz  ganz  einerlei.176 

However  the  poems  Armut  und  Reichtum,  Vagabunden,  and 
Homestead  1892  do  broach  economic  questions.  Hedwig  Vogel 
contribtued  many  poems  to  contemporary  newspapers.  They  treat 
chiefly  of  "der  Liebe  Lust  und  Leid,"  but  also  of  the  striving  of 
modern  society  to  attain  new  ideals. 

Among  the  present-day  writers  is  Otto  Sattler,  of  New  York. 
He  was  born  at  Emmendingen,  Baden,  in  1872,  learned  book-bind 
ing,  studied  philosophy  and  literature  at  the  University  of  Zurich, 
traveled  for  about  fifteen  years,  visiting  many  parts  of  the  globe, 
and  is  now  a  journalist,  writer,  and  lecturer  at  New  York.  Among 
his  published  works  are  Stille  und  Sturm,  Gedichte  (1910),  New 
York  und  die  Welt,  Gedichte  (1913),  and  Krieg,  Gedichte  der  Zeit 
(1915).  Stille  und  Sturm  takes  the  reader  from  the  ruins  of  a 
mediaeval  castle  near  the  author's  quiet  birthplace  to  the  busy  metro 
politan  city  of  New  York.  The  background  of  the  poems  is  ex 
ceedingly  modern;  there  appear,  for  example,  furnaces  belching 
forth  smoke  and  flames,  the  factory  laborer  working  to  the  mononto- 
nous  click  of  the  machine,  the  honk,  honk  of  the  automobile,  the  big 
ocean  liner  calling  at  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  blue  electrical 
sparks,  the  sweat  shop,  and  the  modern  Belshazzar's  feast.  Fre 
quently  Dame  Care,  an  effervescent,  nebular  something,  peeps  in  at 
the  window.  The  poet's  style  shows  the  characteristics  of  the 
"Moderne." 


170  Gesammelte  Schriften,  IV.  Leben,  Liebe,  Gestalten,  Dichtungen,  p.  I. 


n6  Socialism  in  German  American  Literature 

Like  Thoreau  he  often  laments  over  the  fact  that  modern  in 
dustrial  progress  mars  the  beauties  of  nature — 

Ja,  ich  liebe  dich,  du  neue  Zeit, 

Ich  lieb  dein  dampfumzischtes  Eisenkleid, 

Die  blauen  elektrischen  Funken. 

Doch  wenn  ich  durch  die  alten  Walder  geh 

Und  sie  von  unsrer  Zeit  verwiistet  seh, 

1st  mir,  als  ware  uns  ein  grosses  Gliick  versunken.177 

With  a  few  strokes  of  his  poetic  brush  he  brings  out  the  con 
trast  of  nature  and  the  machine  in  Der  blaue  Morgen  *  *  * 

Der  blaue  Morgen  iiber  der  Grossstadt  strahlt, 
Mit  lichten  Farben  Friedensbilder  malt — 
Ich  schau  ihm  sinnend  zu — da — ein  schriller  Pfiff !     *     * 
Ich  schreck  auf  !: — Die  Fabrik !      *      *      *      Ich  renn  in 
ihren  Eisengriff. — 178 

The  many  dashes  and  shortened  forms  remind  one  of  the 
"Geniezeit."  In  Hs  bluhen  die  Linden,  little  girls,  winding  wreaths 
of  flowers  on  a  meadow,  are  contrasted  with  eight  hundred  people 
working  in  a  noisy,  unsanitary  factory.  The  symbolical  figure  of 
Want  also  stares  into  the  factory  window.  Aus  den  S  Mot  en  treats 
a  similar  theme.  Konnt  ich  dock  ziehn  *  *  *  reminds  one  of 
Mignon's  Lied  and  Es  dengelte  der  Bauer — is  in  the  vein  of  the  folk 
song,  the  second  stanza  illustrates  the  style: 

Es  hatte  der  Bauer  ein  feuriges  Kind, 

Des  Madels  Haar  loste  der  lustige  Wind — 

Da  kamen  mir  gute  Ideen ; 

Die  Ideen, 

Die  lassen  sich  leicht  wohl  verstehen.178 

In  New  York  und  die  Welt  are  found  the  typical  striking 
scenes  of  the  metropolis.  The  elevated  train  rattles  past  the  clothes 
lines  and  fire  escapes  of  the  East  Side,  the  steam  drill  is  penetrating 
the  rock  for  a  foundation  for  a  new  fifty-story  sky-scraper,  the 
clatter  of  the  steel  riveting  machine  is  heard,  laborers  go  to  work, 
furnaces  glow — in  short,  all  the  hurry  and  bustle  of  a  busy  city. 


177  Stille  und  Sturm,  p.  41. 

178  Stille  und  Sturm,  pp.  57  and  53. 


Socialism  Reflected  in  German  American  Literature  117 

Veilchen  illustrates  a  type  of  poems  in  this  collection : 

Aus  fahlgelben  Gesichtern 
von  kleinen  Buben 
und  Madchen 

gliihn  schwarze  Augen  auf   den  Werktisch, 
wo  der  Kinder  schnelle  Finger 
Tuchveilchen  formen. 

Am  obern   Ende 

sitzt  die  italienische  Mutter 

und  shan't, 

und  hiistelt, 

und  treibt  mit  harter  Stimme 

die  Kleinen  zur  Arbeit. 


Und  iiber  den  Platz 

kommt  der  Weg  in  einer  Linie 
durch  den  weissen  Triumphbogen 
zur  fiinften  Avenue  New  Yorks. 

Es  kommt  die  Strasse 

geradeaus  von  der  Holle  der  Armut 
zum  Himmel  der  Reichen.179 

Here,  as  in  other  poems,  Battler's  poetic  forms  become  mere 
dithyrambs  and  the  usual  poetic  strophes  are  not  employed. 

A  discussion  of  the  prose  works  exhibiting  a  naturalistic  or  so 
cialistic  phase  would  extend  the  limits  of  this  paper  too  far.  Just  a 
brief  mention  will  be  made.  Many  of  the  forty-eighters  essayed  to 
portray  the  times  and  to  clad  their  pet  theories  in  stories,  sketches, 
and  novels.  Such  writers  are  Adolf  Douai,  F.  O.  Dresel,  Reinhard 
Solger,  Udo  Brachvogel,  George  Lippard,  Gustave  Struve,  and 
others. 

The  popularity  of  Sue's  Les  Mysteres  de  Paris  (1842)  also 
spread  to  Amercia.  About  1844  V.  W.  Frohlich  published  a  transla 
tion  of  it  in  a  German  paper  of  Cincinnati,  which  was  later  put  out 
in  book  form  by  Jakob  Uhl  at  New  York  without  date.  In  1850 
appeared  anonymously  Die  Geheimnisse  von  Philadelphia  at  Phila 
delphia.  The  introduction  states  that  the  purpose  of  the  book  is 


178  New  York  und  die  Welt,  p.  60. 


n8  Socialism  in   German  American  Literature 

to  expose  the  terrible  corruption  which  undermines  a  part  of  our 
social  structure ;  it  continues :  "Wir  miissen  die  einf ache  Wahrheit 
horen  und  die  nackte  ungeschminkte  Wirklichkeit  sehen;  wir 
miissen  die  kostbaren  Palaste  der  Reichen  und  ihre  augenverblenden- 
den  Schonheiten  durchwandern  und  in  die  ekelhaft  schmutzigen 
Hiitten  der  Armen  hinabsteigen  und  von  ihrem  Elende  geniessen !" 
In  chapter  one  Chestnut  and  Bedford  Streets  are  constrasted.  A 
year  later  followed  Bernstein's  Geheimnisse  von  St.  Louis,  and  in 
1855  Klauprecht's  Cincinnati,  oder  Die  Geheimnisse  des  Western.™ 
Lippard's  Empire  City  or  New  York  by  Night,  Brachvogel's 
Der  Trodler,  ein  Roman  aus  dem  Alltagsleben  and  King  Corn,  and 
Struve's  Eine  Proletarierin  are  likewise  naturalistic  in  their  treat 
ment.  More  distinctly  socialistic  and  didactic  are  Otto-Walster's 
Am  Webstuhl  der  Zeit  (1873,)  and  Allerhand  Proletarier  (1874). 
His  works  seem  never  to  have  been  collected ;  in  the  newspapers  he 
edited  he  published  numerous  novels,  and  poems.  Max  Arlberg 
(pseud,  for  G.  Rhomberg)  published  Joseph  Freifeld,  Ein  Sozial- 
roman  aus  dem  deutschamerikanischen  Leben  (1891),  and  J.  J. 
Messmer  Im  Strome  der  Zeit  oder  Kapital  und  Arbeit  Bilder  arts 
dem  Arbeiterleben  der  Gegenwart.  (1883).  Otto  Ruppius  was 
greatly  interested  in  the  development  of  the  laborer.  In  his  novels 
he  portrays  chiefly  the  struggle  of  the  German  immigrant.  Charles 
Sealsfield  portrays  in  his  novels  the  public  and  private,  social,  po 
litical  and  religious  life  of  a  whole  people  who  take  the  place  of  the 
usual  novelistic  hero.181 


180  Cf .  Hellmuth  Mielke,  Der  deutsche  Roman,  Dresden,  1912,  pp.  96-103. 

181  Cf.  Emigration  to  America  Reflected  in  German  Fiction  by  P.  A.  Barba 
in  German  American  Annals,  N  .S.,  XII,  193  ff. 


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